Artwork Data

Title

Verschuivende piramide

Artist

Cees Langendorff

Year

1981

Material

roestvast staal

Dimensions

400 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Lozerlaan, Den Haag

City district

Escamp

GPS data

52.032385703811, 4.2553733849081 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Without the artificial hill, the effect of the shifting pyramid would have been much less pronounced. Now it seems as if the 4-metre-high pyramid is descending along the small hill near the Melis Stokelaan. The traditional pyramid has been more or less dismantled and now consists of three segments which, when linked together, represent a shift. The object by Cees Langendorff is apparently moving downhill.

Strictly speaking, 'Shifting Pyramid' fits into the tradition of concrete art. Paradoxically, concrete art is abstract. It does not imitate visible reality, but departs from concrete matters such as form, colour, rhythm and contrast. Langendorff's sculpture is given a special added value by its placement on the little hill. In this way, the artist forces an interaction between the sculpture and its surroundings. The sculpture does not need a pedestal, as it is firmly anchored in the ridge.
Langendorff has sought an unconventional solution. The visual tension is created in an unusual way by the interaction between the sculpture and the spot where it is placed. The intervention meets the artist's need for surprising solutions and effects that emphasise that he is not easily fooled.

Ingenuity and unpredictability manifest themselves in various ways in Langendorff's oeuvre. The artist has realised a number of sculptures in public spaces, including a work of art at primary school 'De Wiltzangh' in Amsterdam's Bos en Lommer neighbourhood (1988). Besides sculpting, he is also active as a painter and makes collages and installations.

Close