Living stone (Levend steentje)

About this artwork.

Near the residentials towers Atlas and House in the district of Paddepoel, there are two stone statues by Harm van Weerden. 
 
The marble Cardinal's Hat near tower Atlas has a more or less oval shape that tapers to the bottom. The 'hat' is covered by four 'bands' that cross each other on top of the statue. Three sides of the sculpture have a vertical notch. The lower part of the artwork is polished smooth, while the upper half clearly shows working with the pointed chisel.

A similar variation in surface structure is found in Living Stone on the side of the tower House. The semi-circular granite statue has a smooth polished notch in the middle. Cardinal's Hat and Living Stone are both plant names. In reality they are 1-centimetre-high succulents that the artist has enlarged 100 times in these sculptures. GAK, which commissioned the work, wanted a work of art that was related to nature.

Cardinal's hat and Living stone are examples of the so-called 'environmental projects' with which Van Weerden was often involved in the 1970s. His starting point was not just the creation of an sculpture, but the design of an environment around a building. In this case, the hills on which the works of art are placed, as well as the paving (cobblestones that form winding footpaths) are part of the art design.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Harm van Weerden

• District
  Paddepoel (incl. Tuinwijk)

• Year of creation
  1976

• Art type
  Art in / on a building

• Material
  Granite, Marble

• Dimensions
  h 0,90 m