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Affect (Tasten)

Anna Dekking-van Haeften

About this artwork.

In the garden of the former Physics Laboratory (which is now a meeting and congress centre) there is a small pond with a bronze statue called Affect. This sculpture was made in 1965 by Anne Dekking-van Haeften.

From a kind of roughly truncated tree stump, smooth “feelers” emerge. According to the artist, the sculpture represents the "laws of physics" that used to be the subject of study in the building.

Anne Dekking-van Haeften began her career as an artist around 1925 by creating portraits. Later she switched to modelling human figures and making sculptures. In order to learn to sculpt properly, the artist stayed in Paris from 1952 to 1953. She took lessons from the famous sculptor Karl Longuet there.

In 1956 she was awarded her first commissions for sculptures. Some of her most famous works are Ot and Sien and Life and Death (both placed in Groningen) and the war memorial in Delfzijl. This monument was made in 1956 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the north maritime training college, "Abel Tasman". It also served as a memorial to the pupils and former pupils who died during the Second World War. 

Since 1999 the statue is no longer in its original state and the location has been overgrown by bushes over time. The last two photos show the original situation of Affect.

Location.

Westersingel 34 (RuG, in de tuin)

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Facts & Figures.