The Dialectics of Death in the Civilian Era: Hans van Houwelingen’s Sluipweg

The second half of the twentieth century saw the rise of public art as a separate aesthetic category. But the same period also saw the creation and legalization of “the civilian.” This essay draws a distinction between “the public” and “the civilian” in order to discuss Sluipweg, an innovative art project recently created by Hans van Houwelingen. It is a path made up of tombstones, located on the Defense Line of Amsterdam. Since the Defense Line is a UNESCO World Heritage site, this essay explores the intricate theoretical questions posed by the project having to do with the metaphysics of permanence, the locus of “the civilian,” and the status of time and death in the modern era.