Two or Three Things I Know About Provo

In memoriam, Ad Leeflang, 1950–2018.

Within the post-Provo landscape of Amsterdam, Ad played an important role – he was involved in the student movement (and the 1969 occupation of the Maagdenhuis), in the early squatting milieu (the group of activists around Woningburo De Kraker), and in the Nieuwmarktbuurt action committees. He was also part of activist printers’ collective De Vrije Zeefdrukker (‘The Free Screenprinter’) – in that capacity, he created the iconic ’Twee Handen op Eén Bom’ poster (1975).

On top of that, he was a longtime editor of ‘De Tand des Tijds’ (‘The Ravages of Time’), the historical/satirical magazine published between 1976 and 1983 by Rob Stolk (1946–2001). Ad remained a dedicated archivist of ‘De Tand des Tijds’ ever since (in fact, in December 2017, he was the main contributor to volume 18 of ‘Uitgelezen Boeken’, an issue fully dedicated to ‘De Tand des Tijds’).

All throughout these committees and movements, he was a close friend to Rob and Sara Stolk – a friendship that lasted until the end.

He will be remembered – as an activist, and archivist, a psychologist, a father, a husband, and a dear friend.

A full obituary (written by Tjebbe van Tijen) can be read here.

In 2011, Ad Leeflang contributed to the first version of ‘Two of Three Thing I Know About Provo’, the large Provo retrospective that we installed at art space W139 in Amsterdam – for that exhibition, he wrote down his memories of ‘De Tand des Tijds’, resulting in a complete historical overview of the magazine. (As a matter of fact – for that same exhibition, his daughter Anna Leeflang contributed a long text as well). More about that exhibition can be found here.

Activism to archivism, archivism to activism

“The greatest modernizers inaugurate their career with a backward leap, and a renaissance proceeds through a return to the past, a recycling, and hence a revolution. [...] Behind the ‘re’ of reformation, republic or revolution, there is a hand flicking through the pages of a book, from the end back to the beginning”. – Régis Debray (‘Socialism and Print’, 2007) Researching the Provo movement, and its post-Provo offshoots, it is impossible not to be struck by the symbiotic relationship between the archivist and the activist – two roles that are fully dependent on each other. Activism generates archives, archives generate activism – and so forth.

Let’s not forget that Provo, a movement that might appear to some people as phenomenon without history, was in fact very much inspired by the early socialist, anarchist, and pacifist movements that existed in the Netherlands between the First and Second World War (decades before the birth of Provo). In Niek Pas’ important book ‘Imaazje: De Verbeelding van Provo, 1965–1967’ (Wereldbibliotheek, 2003), there is a wonderful paragraph in which Rob Stolk recalls that, during his childhood years, he was very impressed by the book shelves of Van der Veen, the father of a friend. Through these shelves, Rob came across revolutionary thinkers such as Domela Nieuwenhuis (1846–1919), whose ideas would become very influential to Provo. In other words, it were book collections, libraries and archives that served as some of Provo's biggest inspirations.

And all throughout the actions of Provo, the archive continued to play an important role. Already during its existence, Provo actively documented itself – magazine articles were saved, photos were collected, scrapbooks were compiled. During some of the Provo happenings that took place around Het Lieverdje (the statue at Spui Square), a large cardboard folder was carried around, adorned with a brick wall pattern. This folder contained a large collection of newspaper clippings, all on the subject of Provo. The role of this cardboard folder was almost ritual – it was placed against the statue, people dancing around it frantically, bearing torches and slogans. Seen that way, the archive became the heart of the happening, the center of the movement itself. The archive was transformed into a battery, an accumulator, a generator of activism.  

A very concrete example of this (activism being generated by the archive) took place during the final stages of Provo. Immediately after the 1967 liquidation (or better said, self-liquidation) of Provo, Rob Stolk and a couple of his close friends decided to sell their personal Provo material to the library of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). This act (the selling of the archive) was certainly meant as a conceptual, artistic gesture: as the “final provocation”. A special committee was invented (the ‘Provo Liquidatie Commissie’), and managed (after bluffing that an American university was interested in buying the archive) to make a deal with the University of Amsterdam – in total, a sum of 13.010,- guilders was paid for the archive.

The transfer of this archive was actually captured on film. The movie (quite proto-punk in its conception – part Great Rock & Roll Swindle, part Great Train Robbery) shows Rob and his friends, dressed as gangsters, driving around in Amsterdam while carrying plastic machine guns and a large trunk filled with archival material. After the trunk was delivered at the university, the Provos (still dressed as mobsters, and carrying toy guns) went to the bank to deposit the money – where they were immediately arrested by police officers who thought they stumbled onto an actual bank robbery.

Adding even more to the conceptual, ludic (and self-mythologizing) nature of the transaction was the list of absurdist conditions stated by the Provo Likwiedaatsie Kommissie. For the next five years, none of the material was allowed to be reproduced – while for a period of twenty-five years, the correspondence (the part of the archive that was gifted rather than sold) could only be visited with strict permission of the Kommissie. At the same time, all members of the Kommissie (Rob Stolk, Loe/Lou van Nimwegen, Robert Jasper Grootveld, and Steef Davidson) had unlimited access to the archive.  

In Derek Taylor’s ‘It Was Twenty Years Ago Today’ (Bantam Press, 1987), Rob describes the transaction as follows:

“In fact it wasn’t an archive at all, just some scattered documentation, if you want to call it that. We spread a rumour via some journalist that the Provo archive would be sold to an American university, so the University of Amsterdam decided to buy the archive itself. They paid 13.010 guilders for it, at that time a huge amount of money, and then they started a real archive. A lot of people were interested in the movement but heard about it only when Provo was already dead so for us it was really useful – we could say ‘Go and read about it!’... Now the University has a big department with all kinds of material and publications of those times, from any country in the world where something was happening. So now there is a big archive”.

From the 13.010,- guilders that the Provo Likwiedaatsie Kommissie received from the University of Amsterdam, 3.000,- guilders were donated to Robert Jasper Grootveld, and his Lowland Weed Company. The rest of the money (10.000,- guilders) was used to found (and fund) the ‘Stichting ter Bevordering van een Goed en Goedkoop Leven’ (‘Foundation for the Promotion of Good and Cheap Living’), an action committee that played a crucial role in both the early squatters’ movement (Woningburo De Kraker) and Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt (the resistance against the total demolition of the Amsterdam’s Nieuwmarkt area). In other words, it was the death of Provo (and the act of selling of the archive) that enabled these new movements to take place – like a Provotarian phoenix rising from its ashes. A very clear illustration of activism being generated by an archive that was generated by activism.

Notes from the Nieuwmarkt 6 Contact sheet (circa 1974), containing photos by Rob Stolk. Part six in a series of approximately 22 sheets.

After the liquidation of Provo movement, Rob Stolk remained an important figure in various post-Provo groups, most notably in the early squatters’ scene (Woningburo de Kraker – doet het steeds vaker), and in Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt (the action group that successfully protested against the total demolition of the Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt district).

The image shown is a contact print (one of a series of 22 sheets), containing various photographs made by Rob Stolk, round about 1974.

Going through the whole series of contact sheets, it is striking to notice just how much the spheres of activism and daily life were integral parts of each other. Gloomy stills of Nieuwmarkt police riots sit next to casual snapshots of family and friends – often co-existing on the same role of film.

On this particular sheet, we see images of a protest march that took place towards the end of 1974 – banners, flags (and even tractors) bearing slogans against the construction of subway stations (and the accompanying destruction of residential buildings) in the Nieuwmarkt area. One of the cars carries a placard ridiculing Han Lammers, at that time the main city council member responsible for urban regeneration (and as such the sworn enemy of the protesters and squatters who were trying to save the Nieuwmarkt from demolition) – while another vehicle transports a miniature windmill (followed by a low-tech carnivalesque dragon-like creature).  

Notes from the Nieuwmarkt 5

Contact sheet (1974), containing photos by Rob Stolk. Part five in a series of approximately 22 sheets.

After the liquidation of Provo movement, Rob Stolk remained an important figure in various post-Provo groups, most notably in the early squatters’ scene (Woningburo de Kraker – doet het steeds vaker), and in Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt (the action group that successfully protested against the demolition of the Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt district).

The image shown is a contact print (one of a series of 22 sheets), containing various photographs made by Rob Stolk, in 1974. 

Looking at this particular sheet, we are immediately reminded of the role that language played, both within Provo and its offshoots. Banners and placards (bearing slogans such as “Dit is slopend”, and “Wie knapt het hier nu eigenlijk op?”) turn the battlefield into a typographical playground, while the photos on the right side of the sheet are obliterated by that oldest of all languages – smoke signals, caused by the smoke screens of the protesters (and the water cannons of the police).

In fact, the structure on which most of the rebus-like slogans are painted is the iconic ‘loopbrug’, the illegal bridge that was constructed by the protesters to connect two of the occupied buildings. A similar structure was used a couple of years earlier, during the Maagdenhuisbezetting of 1969 (the student occupation of the University of Amsterdam). 

Also visible in some of the pictures – an actual children’s playground designed by Aldo van Eyck (the Dutch structuralist architect, who later became involved in the Nieuwmarkt protest movement as well). 

Notes from the Nieuwmarkt 4

Contact sheet (1974), containing photos by Rob Stolk. Part four in a series of approximately 22 sheets.

After the liquidation of Provo movement, Rob Stolk remained an important figure in various post-Provo groups, most notably in the early squatters’ scene (Woningburo de Kraker), and in Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt (the action group that successfully protested against the demolition of the Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt district).

The image shown is a contact print (one of a series of 22 sheets), containing various photographs made by Rob Stolk, in 1974.

Going through the whole series of contact sheets, it is striking to notice just how much the spheres of activism and daily life were integral parts of each other. Grim stills of Nieuwmarkt police riots sit next to snapshots of family and friends – often co-existing on the same role of film.

In this particular sheet, we see Rob’s daughters (Marieke and Suzanne) – but also people like the artist Albert Blitz (at that time connected to screenprint collective De Vrije Zeefdrukker), Otto Valkman, and Tom Bouman. Luud Schimmelpennink’s electronic ‘Witkar’ makes an appearance as well – and there’s also a picture of the iconic ‘Kleurenprojekt’, a public art project that consisted of several political/conceptual murals throughout the Nieuwmarkt area.

Notes from the Nieuwmarkt 3

Contact sheet (1974), containing photos by Rob Stolk. Part three in a series of approximately 22 sheets.

After the liquidation of Provo movement, Rob Stolk remained an important figure in various post-Provo groups, most notably in the early squatters’ scene (Woningburo de Kraker – doet het steeds vaker), and in Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt (the action group that successfully protested against the demolition of the Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt district and surrounding areas, active between 1967 and 1976).

The image shown is a contact print (one of a series of 22 sheets), containing various photographs made by Rob Stolk, in 1974.

Going through the whole series of contact sheets, it is striking to see just how much the spheres of activism and daily life were integral parts of each other. Grim stills of Nieuwmarkt police riots sit next to snapshots of family and friends – often co-existing on the same role of film.

Notes from the Nieuwmarkt 2

Contact sheet (1974), containing photos by Rob Stolk. Part two in a series of approximately 22 sheets.

After the liquidation of Provo movement, Rob Stolk remained an important figure in various post-Provo groups, most notably in the early squatters’ scene (Woningburo de Kraker), and in Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt (the action committee that successfully protested against the demolition of the Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt district and surrounding areas, active between 1967 and 1976).

The image shown is a contact print (one of a series of 22 sheets), containing various photographs made by Rob Stolk, in 1974. 

Going through the whole series of contact sheets, it is striking to see just how much the spheres of activism and daily life were integral parts of each other. Grim stills of Nieuwmarkt police riots sit next to snapshots of family and friends – often co-existing on the same role of film.

Notes from the Nieuwmarkt 1

Contact sheet (1974), containing photos by Rob Stolk. One of a series of approximately 22 sheets. After the liquidation of Provo movement, Rob Stolk remained an important figure in various post-Provo groups, most notably in the early squatters’ scene (Woningburo de Kraker), and in Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt (the action committee that successfully protested against the demolition of the Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt district and surrounding areas, active between 1967 and 1976). The image shown is a contact print (part of a series of 22 sheets), containing various photographs made by Rob Stolk, in 1974. 

Going through the whole series of contact sheets, it is striking to see just how much the spheres of activism and daily life were integral parts of each other. Grim stills of Nieuwmarkt police riots sit next to snapshots of family and friends – often co-existing within the same role of film. 

Photos from these contact sheets were shown in recent exhibitions on the subject of Provo (i.e., ‘Two or Three Things I Know About Provo’ from 2011, and ‘Two or Three Things / The Brno Edition’ from 2012). There are also plans to compile a selection of these photographs into a publication.

God, Nederland & Oranje

God, Nederland & Oranje (1966–1968), Ten issues, offset-printed. A5-sized, A4-sized, A3-sized. Approximately 16–20 pages per issue.

During its short existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – first of all, there was Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved. Other Provo-produced titles included the weekly Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. And finally, the Provo movement also published God, Nederland & Oranje, a bi-monthly cartoon-zine, steeped in hard-hitting satire.

Whereas other Provo publications were typically printed on the movement’s own press, God, Nederland & Oranje was printed by Drukkerij Delta, an anarchist printing workshop located in The Hague.

Featuring contributors like Willem (Bernard Willem Holtrop), Willem Malsen, Ronald, De Wit, Pierre Roth and Topor, and published by De Parel van de Jordaan (Provo under another name), the main targets of the magazine were religion, nationalism, and monarchy (hence the title, ‘God, The Netherlands & Orange’). Many of the issue were confiscated – and some contributors (such as publisher Hans Metz) were even arrested.

The most illustrious name that emerged from this magazine might be Willem (born Bernard Willem Holtrop) – who, after the liquidation of Provo in 1967, moved to Paris and became a well-established and award-winning comic artist, working for leftist journals such as l’Enragé, Hara-Kiri, Libération, Charlie Mensuel, and Charlie Hebdo.  

Stem Provo – Kejje Lachen

‘Stem Provo – Kejje Lachen’ (‘Vote Provo – Have a Laugh’), 1966. Photograph (detail) by Cor Jaring, as appeared on page 160 of ‘Provo: De Geschiedenis van de Provotarische Beweging, 1965–1967’ (Meulenhoff Amsterdam, 1985).  

As an anarchist movement, participating in the municipal elections wasn’t the most obvious choice for Provo – after all, Provo fully believed in direct action, not representative democracy. However, in June 1966, Provo did participate in the Amsterdam elections – they figured that this could be their only shot at realizing their utopian urbanist agenda (the so-called ‘White Plans’). And in fact, they did win a seat in the council – a seat that they would maintain until 1970, after which their seat was handed over to the Kabouterbeweging, an environmentalist post-Provo offshoot.

But even in its role as legit political party, Provo managed to deconstruct the spectacle of democracy. An example of this deconstruction can be found in this painted, wooden panel (125 x 185 cm), created by Rob Stolk in 1966. With a slogan that favored ludic strategies over rational motivations, and its bright CoBrA/Pop-Art aesthetics, this painting (here photographed as installed on the bridge at the corner of Leidsestraat and Prinsengracht, in Amsterdam) became an iconic image for Provo. The painted board (one of many panels, situated all throughout Amsterdam) is shown here as installed next to a campaign poster of the PvdA, the established Labour Party. It is clearly visible how much the two graphic languages clash, and engage in a rhythmic game of statement and counter-statement.     

It is interesting to note that Rob Stolk, the creator of this wooden panel (and one of the main founders of the Provo movement) couldn’t be part of the actual political party – he was simply too young to be legally elected. Just like most other Provos in 1966, Rob was under 21. The list of candidates consisted of slightly older people, often coming from the periphery of Provo – the most illustrious being the artist Constant Nieuwenhuys.  

Provo issue 15

Provo, issue 15 (March 17, 1967). Offset-printed, 16 pages, 59.4 x 21 cm.

During its existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – God, Nederland & Oranje, Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. However, its most important publication remains Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved.

Shown here the cover of issue 15 of Provo, published around March 17, 1967 (in an edition of 10,000). The front image was crudely based on the cover of issue 13 (originally designed by Swip Stolk).

Issue 15 turned out to be the movement’s swan song – only a couple of weeks later (on May 13, 1967), Provo liquidated itself, in a self-described act of ‘auto-provocation’. 

Provo issue 14

Provo, issue 14 (February 15, 1967). Offset-printed, 12 pages, 59.4 x 21 cm.

During its existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – God, Nederland & Oranje, Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. However, its most important publication remains Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved.

Shown here the front cover of issue 14, published around February 15, 1967 (in an edition of 10,000). 

This particular issue of Provo already contained, within its paste-ups and transparent film negatives, the first signs of the 'Provo Likwidaatsie Kommissie’ – the faction (headed by Rob Stolk) that wanted to ‘liquidate’ the movement from the inside-out. More about those first signs can be found here.

Provo issue 13

Provo, issue 13 (January 10, 1967). Offset-printed, 12 pages, 59.4 x 21 cm.

During its existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – God, Nederland & Oranje, Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. However, its most important publication remains Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved.

Shown here the front cover of issue 13 of Provo, published around January 10, 1967 (in an edition of 10,000). The cover was designed by Swip Stolk, the brother of Rob Stolk. One of their earlier collaborations (the anarchist magazine Barst, from April 1965) is discussed here.

Provo issue 12

Provo, issue 12 (October 1, 1966). Offset-printed, 44 pages, 29.7 x 10.5 cm.

During its existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – God, Nederland & Oranje, Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. However, its most important publication remains Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved.

Shown here the cover (back and front) of issue 12 of Provo, published around October 1, 1966 (in an edition of 15,000). 

Provo issue 9

Provo, issue 9 (May 12, 1966). Offset-printed, 48 pages, 29.7 x 10.5 cm.

During its existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – God, Nederland & Oranje, Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. However, its most important publication remains Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved.

Shown here the back and front of the ninth issue of Provo, published around May 12, 1966, in an edition of 12,000.

Provo issue 8

Provo, issue 8 (April 14, 1966). Offset-printed, 36 pages, 29.7 x 10.5 cm.

During its existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – God, Nederland & Oranje, Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. However, its most important publication remains Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved.

Shown here the cover (back and front) of the eight issue of Provo, published around April 14, 1966, in an edition of 10,000. The photo on the front is by Dutch photographer Cor Jaring – we discuss the picture in more detail here. 

Provo issue 7

Provo, issue 7 (February 25, 1966). Offset-printed, 40 pages, 29.7 x 10.5 cm.

During its existence (1965–1967), the Provo movement published several magazines – God, Nederland & Oranje, Image, and the ongoing series of pamphlets known as Provokaties. However, its most important publication remains Provo, the monthly journal around which the whole movement revolved.

Shown here the cover (back and front) of the seventh issue of Provo, published around February 25, 1966 – in a first edition of 3,000, and a second edition of 2,000 (most of them confiscated by the police). This particular issue also featured the so-called ‘Subversieve brief’ (‘Subversive letter’), a text that eventually landed Rob Stolk in jail.