Out of Focus
Status
Temporary
Category
In storage
Since
01-11-2020
Explanation
In 1968, sculptor Huub Hierck installed a monumental, copper relief to beautify the new School for Photography and Phototechnology on Tarwekamp in Mariahoeve. The composition with rectangular planes that find their place on, above and next to each other is entirely in the style of the 1950s and 1960s: abstract and spatial. And in style with the construction of this reconstruction district. Because of the experimental parcelization, the diverse types of houses in residential blocks of different heights and the many greenery for variety, the Rijksdienst Cultureel Erfgoed selected Mariahoeve in 2016 as one of the thirty reconstruction districts of national importance.
Artist Anneloes Groot has been dedicating herself to Mariahoeve for decades, both to the architecture and greenery of the neighborhood and to art in the outdoor space. When she heard in 2020 of the impending demolition of the Fotovakschool, she immediately raised the alarm with Stroom Den Haag and the Wijkberaad Mariahoeve to save Huub Hierck's relief. The Wijkberaad then posted a cry for help on its own Facebook page and managed to mobilize the municipality. Shortly thereafter, then Alderman Robert van Asten officially promised to find a new location for the relief.
In mid-November 2020, just before the demolition of the Fotovak School, the relief was carefully removed from the wall and stored. Since the lower part of the relief was stolen some time ago, the feasibility of restoration is being considered at the same time. The idea is to have the relief in a new location in its full glory be part of the neighborhood for which it was created. Kindcentrum Bezuidenhout in Rooseboomstraat has indicated in 2022 that it would like to adopt the artwork. It fits seamlessly with the style of their newly constructed building with brick and many horizontal lines.
Artwork Data
Artwork Location
Address
Tarwekamp, op gevel Britse School Den Haag
City district
Haagse Hout
GPS data
52.088207553004, 4.3523991674591 View on map
Artwork Description
Text
Sometimes a work of art is undated. Like the sculpture by painter/sculptor Huub Hierck on the facade of The British School, the former photography school, on Tarwekamp. Because the sculpture was designed specifically for the building, its year of construction provides some guidance. In early 1968, the school opened its doors. A newspaper report in Het Vaderland of October 12, 1968 adds, "On the facade of the new School for Photography and Phototechnology in Mariahoeve, the above sculpture in copper can be admired. The accompanying photo shows Hierck's artwork. These details make a dating of the copper sculpture in 1968 plausible.
The large wall object consists of several juxtaposed and superimposed metal plates of various sizes. We see geometric figures, but almost all of them are irregular in shape. In one case, they combine to form a neat rectangle or a perfect square. With the layered structure and the angled rectangles and squares, Hierck realized a strong depth effect in the "flat" object. The plates are not smoothly polished and the green of the copper possesses different gradations. The rough skin, hues and intentional imperfection of the figures create the sensitive beauty that typifies the artwork.
The same is true of other works in Hierck's oeuvre, including tapestries and paintings, ceramics, glass compositions, paintings and sculptures. Sometimes his work is figurative. Usually, however, it is abstract. For example, the fountain "Cascade" in the water at the old Electricity Factory consists of repetition of the same rigid form over and over again. Yet it is a dynamic, mobile entity because of the way the water flows into, along and through the various parts. Here Hierck uses water to give a playful quip to his art. In his metal object at Tarwekamp, it is the irregularity in the geometric figures with which the artist lyrically tints his abstraction.