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Untitled

Max Reneman

About this artwork.

The concrete relief shows a stylised bird figure looking at the sun. A mirror-image mould was made, into which liquid concrete was poured. The traces of the mould are still clearly visible. The work of art at Gotenburgweg 46 is made up of three shades of grey. Originally, the wall relief was placed at the Mariaschool in the district Corpus den Hoorn, where, measuring six by eight metres and weighing almost thirty tonnes, it formed a monumental and constructive part of the building. When this school was demolished in 1997, the work of art also threatened to fall prey to the wrecking ball, but was saved in the nick of time. Probably in the 1970s, the colours brown, green and yellow were applied to the work of art. During the relocation in 2003, and once the old paint remnants had been analysed, the wall relief was repainted in the original shades of grey once again.
 
This wall relief is an example of monumental art as it was created in the Netherlands after the Second World War. Building work took place everywhere to repair the damage caused by the war. All major cities developed new neighbourhoods with homes, schools, churches and healthcare centres. In order to provide the public buildings with visual art, in 1951 the central government introduced the so-called percentage regulation. This regulation stipulated that 1 to 1.5 percent of the construction price could be earmarked for decorative adornment. This was understood to mean 'the installation of permanent artwork of monumental character'. In a short time and in an unprecedented quantity, architecture was provided with monumental art such as stained glass windows, sgraffito, mosaics, ceramic and concrete reliefs, intarsia and murals.

Location.

Gotenburgweg 46

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Facts & Figures.