Artwork Data

Title

Carillon

Artist

Matthew Filipowski

Year

1986

Material

brons, staal, aluminium en plastic

Dimensions

h. 600 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Loosduinse Hoofdstraat, Den Haag

City district

Loosduinen

GPS data

52.053095950428, 4.2347556792942 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Despite its cheerful sound, the carillon placed on the Loosduinse Hoofdplein (Loosduin Main Square) has been quite a challenge. When the square with its shopping mall was built in the late 1970s, one per cent of the construction costs was earmarked for a work of art. One part of the population wanted a carillon, another part an artwork. Mathew Filipowski's alternative 'art chimes' became the compromise: the municipality provided the artwork, a fundraising campaign guaranteed the arrival of the carillon, which was eventually delivered by the Koninklijke Klokkengieterij in Asten.

The design by the American-born artist Filipowski was chosen from fifty proposals. The result is a steel construction in which the bells are enclosed in five transparent triangles in golden yellow and azure blue. In accordance with the formulated commission, the whole refers to the coat of arms of Loosduinen, 'being of lazur and charged with three dunes of gold'. Filipowski was educated in Boston and has lived in Tilburg since 1979. He has built up a creditable reputation in the Netherlands. For instance, he made a sculpture for Tilburg that was enthusiastically praised for the 'lyrical disposition that takes shape in the beautiful and traditional way in which the maker gives colour and form to his steel objects'.

The carillon itself keeps the memory of Arnold Spoel (1859-1910) alive. The Loosduinse Hoofdplein only got its current name in 1982. Before that time, it was part of the Arnold Spoelplein which is located a bit further down Symfoniestraat. Spoel was known as a singer and singing teacher from The Hague. He was also a composer, for instance of the children's song 'Under Mother's Umbrella'. His name and the carillon cannot be missed in this neighbourhood.

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