Milestone (Mijlpaal)

About this artwork.

Milestone is built to a height of 9.40 metres from irregular brass plates that are composed of remnants of previous sculptures. The rounded top looks like a slightly curved head overlooking the motorway (A28) along which the artwork has been placed on a noise reducing berm. For the creation of Milestone, René de Boer used the technique of autogenous welding with brass. He learned this process from Edu Waskowsky, who applied it in the production of the Jewish Monument.

Until 1980s De Boer mainly worked with welded brass. Milestone is the last work for which he used this welding technique and in this sense the title of the sculpture is in keeping with the conclusion of the abstract-expressionist phase in his artistry. Two representative examples from this period are Sit Node (Zitknobbels) and Head Over Heels (Rollebollen), sculptures in which the artist strives to narrow the gap between art and audience. He achieves this by allowing his pieces of art to be not only objects of observation, but also objects of use.

From 1981 De Boer started to work with COR-TEN steel, a rather difficult material that forced the artist to use different shapes than the more flexible brass. An example of this is the monumental sculpture Circuit (Kringloop) in the Stadspark. Recurring themes in his work are: nature, birth and death, holding on, letting go and transience.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  René de Boer

• District
  De Wijert

• Year of creation
  1984

• Art type
  Freestanding sculpture

• Material
  Messing

• Dimensions
  h 9,40 m