How do you ensure that art is seen by everyone? The answer is easier than you think: place your work in public space. Kunstspot visited Maree Blok (1959) and Bas Lugthart (1955), an artist duo that has been defining a large part of the Dutch landscape with their work for years. Chances are you already know some of their works. In Groningen alone they can be found in the park pond, on the Prinsesseweg and at the Zernike terrain. What drives this artist duo, and how do they make such gigantic art in public space?
We are welcomed by both the duo and dog Laika in their beautiful home in Onderdendam. Blok: “This is an old school building called De Kleine Wereld. When we took over the building, we were so much abroad that we called it Villa Mundi, or Home of the World. ”
Blok and Lugthart both studied at Minerva Academy in Groningen. They interacted a lot and grew closer and closer. Blok: “For an assignment I asked Bas to participate. We thought: we just try, otherwise we will continue separately from each other. ” This influence sometimes had an inhibiting effect. Lugthart: “Sometimes it is quite a struggle to make something together. You think: this is my thing, this is completely unique. At the same time you also attract each other in the process of each other's image. Because there are two of you, it keeps bubbling a little longer. When we bought this building, we agreed: what arises within it is joint work. ”
Art in public space
Blok / Lugthart's work can now be seen everywhere and they have developed their own distinctive style. Lugthart: “We always like the wow factor. Unsuspectingly, you pass our artwork, and then your first reaction must be "wow!", So that you stop and look. So it must immediately appeal. That's the first layer. The longer you look at it, the more there is to see. ”
Making art in public space also has its limitations. Lugthart: “A work of art in public space is fragile and must be weather resistant. We always look for the limit here. For example, the work of art that we only unveiled in Duiven is made of relatively fragile material. Then we make the image so beautiful that people respect it. ”
Fortunately, there are also benefits. Lugthart: “When I started it was cracking time and I made a lot of one-off installations. But with what I'm doing now I reach a much larger audience. In addition, we often have big ideas, for which we now have the budget. We can do great things. ”
Blok: “And we don't always have to carry around. We have exhibited once. Such an exhibition was fun the first time, but the tension was gone the second time. Then you prefer to make something new, instead of taking all the stuff with you. ”
Lugthart: “We also make art that is made for a specific place. The place becomes part of the image. That suits us."
FROM VIRTUAL TO PHYSICAL
Over the years Blok / Lugthart have started to work much more with the computer. An important part of the work is now happening here. Blok: “The digital world has brought us a lot. When we still had to make models, it was much more complicated. For example, you had to keep cutting and pasting to get the right format. ”
Lugthart: “Nowadays we have a lot more freedom. We simply create our design in the computer. And then, based on that, we are finally told: "Make it." Then it still has to happen. The artwork in Duiven, for example, was also first created by computer. When we were allowed to realize it, we thought: "hm ... okay, how are we actually going to do it?" Of course we have experience and know if we can make it, but we often don't know exactly how we are going to do it. There is always a point when you bluff that you say, we can do this. That is exciting. Fortunately, the artwork in Duiven became more beautiful than the design, but it could also be the other way around. ”
Sometimes the realization of a design leads to cross-border collaborations. Lugthart: “We often cannot make something ourselves in our studio. We work with artisans in China who make parts for us. We also work with sculptors in India, or with a foundry, with people who model something, glue tiles, cut the steel… The artwork in Duiven contains water, for example we worked together with a fountain manufacturer. We have even worked with the university on a work of art in which our image points to a certain star at certain times and at certain positions. ”
View all artworks by Blok / Lugthart in Groningen here.
Note: This article is translated using Google Translate