Existential
This artwork immediately struck me from the first moment. It is a strange sight that a steel block seems to hang in the air.
It is actually incomprehensible that I drove calmly along something weird. I didn t got off my bike because I saw no immediate reason. If the block were to fall, it would end up next to me.
Because I m interested in sculptures, I now got off my bike. I came closer until I was standing next to the hanging block. This block must have been firmly attached to the lower block in a clever way.
Now I realize that I don t understand how this works, I get worried and I feel fight, flight or freeze. The artwork becomes even more interesting. In my head a lot is happening, but my heartbeat remains the same.
This is different when I decide to walk under the hanging block. My heart rate immediately accelerates. But still I convince myself that continuing walking shouldn t be a problem. I quickly calculate the chance that the block will fall at this moment; the calculation is favorable.
Now that I am standing beneath the hanging block, I at least feel afraid that my life could end at this moment. This artwork does it. Intersection by Lon Pennock causes a existential feeling.
And it stays that way. The artwork is s well made that I still don't know where the solidity comes from. Every time I drive along this artwork, I get the feeling that I m in danger.
Existentieel
Direct vanaf de eerste keer greep dit kunstwerk mij aan. Het is een raar gezicht dat een stalen blok in de lucht lijkt te hangen.
Eigenlijk is het onbegrijpelijk dat ik rustig door gereden ben nadat ik iets raars zag. Ik zag geen directe reden om van mijn fiets te stappen. Als het blok zou vallen, dan zou dit naast mij terecht komen.
Omdat sculpturen mij interesseren ben ik nu afgestapt van mijn fiets. Ik ben dichterbij gekomen totdat ik naast het hangende blok stond. Dit blok moet op een slimme manier heel stevig bevestigd zijn aan het onderste blok.
Nu ik mij realiseer dat ik niet snap hoe dit werkt, word ik ongerust en voel ik fight, flight or freeze. Het kunstwerk wordt n g interessanter. Vooral in mijn hoofd gebeurt er veel maar mijn hartslag blijft hetzelfde.
Anders is als ik besluit om onder het hangende te gaan lopen. Direct versnelt mijn hartslag. Toch overtuig ik mijzelf ervan dat doorlopen geen probleem moet zijn. Ik bereken snel de kans dat het blok op dit moment valt; de berekening valt gunstig uit.
Nu ik onder het hangende blok sta, voel ik dan toch de angst dat mijn leven op dit moment kan eindigen. Dit kunstwerk doet het. Intersection van Lon Pennock veroorzaakt een existentieel gevoel.
En dit blijft ook zo. Het kunstwerk is z knap gemaakt dat ik nog steeds niet weet wat de stevigheid geeft. Steeds als ik langs het kunstwerk rijd, krijg ik het gevoel ik in gevaar ben..
www.bkdh.nl:
On Ockenburghstraat stand two rectangles of equal height: one resting on the ground, the other 'floating' and connected to the underlying cube by a rib. Lon Pennock called his sculpture 'Intersection': as if a cube twice as high had been cut through and the top part shifted to the edge. Later, the sculpture was also called 'Balance'. And indeed there is balance in the relationship between the blocks and the space that remains. The subtle, reasonably impossible balance is precisely what characterises Pennock's oeuvre.
For his commissions for public space, Pennock visited the location and intuitively determined the shape and dimensions of the 'sign' he wanted to place in a particular spot. For the central reservation of the Ockenburghstraat he chose corten steel, which oxidizes quickly on the outside. This creates a layer of rust that protects the inside. Pennock found the rust brown appearance to fit in better with the natural surroundings.
Pennock has realised one or more works of art in public spaces almost every year. During his studies (late sixties) he was already working on abstract constructions in metal. In doing so, he followed a trend that was developing internationally. Many artists at the time (including Richard Serra) arrived at similar form solutions. From an art-historical point of view, the artist, who also worked as a teacher and design consultant, belongs to the Minimalists. Their work is characterised by strict geometry, elementary shapes and the use of industrial colours.
Initially, Pennock's work was still 'romantic': the geometric constructions were built up from various sizes of steel, which he sometimes painted. He wanted the steel to float, but the blocks of Perspex needed to support the constructions undermined that aim. With works like 'Intersection', Pennock arrived at a clear concept: the rectangles keep each other in perfect balance: they are balancing on the edge of probability..
www.lonpennock.com:
His small sculptures and collages from the middle of the nineties in particular, are witness to the great virtuosity and freedom that Pennock has made his own. Pennock no longer needs to master the world with his monumental symbols. He paraphrases andcomments on sculptural art by also casting his assemblages in bronze. He commands the language of the material and, with practically nothing, knows how to pass subtle comment on the nature of things.
Lon Pennock: the language of material and the nature of things.
Jetteke Bolten-Rempt skulptuur 1968-2003 www.wikipedia.org:
Leonardus Petrus Paulus 'Lon' Pennock (22 May 1945, The Hague, 9 March 2020, The Hague) was a Dutch sculptor, environmental artist, monumental artist and photographer.
Pennock studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague from 1962 to 1967. He then continued his studies with a French scholarship to the cole nationale sup rieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris until 1968.
In 1969 he received both the Buys van Hulten price as the Jacob Maris incentive price. Twice he was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Social Work in 1973 and in 1979. Pennock was trained as a traditional sculptor, but quickly turned into an abstract, even minimalist artist. Pennock lived and worked in The Hague, where he was born. In 1983-84 together with Kees Verschuren he developed a structure plan for art in a recreation area in the town of Spaarnwoude.
Pennock was director of the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam from 1979 to 1990. The 1984 sculpture in Rotterdam, working title The River, was placed at the West Blaak not far from the front of the academy building.
This artwork immediately struck me from the first moment. It is a strange sight that a steel block seems to hang in the air.
It is actually incomprehensible that I drove calmly along something weird. I didn t got off my bike because I saw no immediate reason. If the block were to fall, it would end up next to me.
Because I m interested in sculptures, I now got off my bike. I came closer until I was standing next to the hanging block. This block must have been firmly attached to the lower block in a clever way.
Now I realize that I don t understand how this works, I get worried and I feel fight, flight or freeze. The artwork becomes even more interesting. In my head a lot is happening, but my heartbeat remains the same.
This is different when I decide to walk under the hanging block. My heart rate immediately accelerates. But still I convince myself that continuing walking shouldn t be a problem. I quickly calculate the chance that the block will fall at this moment; the calculation is favorable.
Now that I am standing beneath the hanging block, I at least feel afraid that my life could end at this moment. This artwork does it. Intersection by Lon Pennock causes a existential feeling.
And it stays that way. The artwork is s well made that I still don't know where the solidity comes from. Every time I drive along this artwork, I get the feeling that I m in danger.
Existentieel
Direct vanaf de eerste keer greep dit kunstwerk mij aan. Het is een raar gezicht dat een stalen blok in de lucht lijkt te hangen.
Eigenlijk is het onbegrijpelijk dat ik rustig door gereden ben nadat ik iets raars zag. Ik zag geen directe reden om van mijn fiets te stappen. Als het blok zou vallen, dan zou dit naast mij terecht komen.
Omdat sculpturen mij interesseren ben ik nu afgestapt van mijn fiets. Ik ben dichterbij gekomen totdat ik naast het hangende blok stond. Dit blok moet op een slimme manier heel stevig bevestigd zijn aan het onderste blok.
Nu ik mij realiseer dat ik niet snap hoe dit werkt, word ik ongerust en voel ik fight, flight or freeze. Het kunstwerk wordt n g interessanter. Vooral in mijn hoofd gebeurt er veel maar mijn hartslag blijft hetzelfde.
Anders is als ik besluit om onder het hangende te gaan lopen. Direct versnelt mijn hartslag. Toch overtuig ik mijzelf ervan dat doorlopen geen probleem moet zijn. Ik bereken snel de kans dat het blok op dit moment valt; de berekening valt gunstig uit.
Nu ik onder het hangende blok sta, voel ik dan toch de angst dat mijn leven op dit moment kan eindigen. Dit kunstwerk doet het. Intersection van Lon Pennock veroorzaakt een existentieel gevoel.
En dit blijft ook zo. Het kunstwerk is z knap gemaakt dat ik nog steeds niet weet wat de stevigheid geeft. Steeds als ik langs het kunstwerk rijd, krijg ik het gevoel ik in gevaar ben..
www.bkdh.nl:
On Ockenburghstraat stand two rectangles of equal height: one resting on the ground, the other 'floating' and connected to the underlying cube by a rib. Lon Pennock called his sculpture 'Intersection': as if a cube twice as high had been cut through and the top part shifted to the edge. Later, the sculpture was also called 'Balance'. And indeed there is balance in the relationship between the blocks and the space that remains. The subtle, reasonably impossible balance is precisely what characterises Pennock's oeuvre.
For his commissions for public space, Pennock visited the location and intuitively determined the shape and dimensions of the 'sign' he wanted to place in a particular spot. For the central reservation of the Ockenburghstraat he chose corten steel, which oxidizes quickly on the outside. This creates a layer of rust that protects the inside. Pennock found the rust brown appearance to fit in better with the natural surroundings.
Pennock has realised one or more works of art in public spaces almost every year. During his studies (late sixties) he was already working on abstract constructions in metal. In doing so, he followed a trend that was developing internationally. Many artists at the time (including Richard Serra) arrived at similar form solutions. From an art-historical point of view, the artist, who also worked as a teacher and design consultant, belongs to the Minimalists. Their work is characterised by strict geometry, elementary shapes and the use of industrial colours.
Initially, Pennock's work was still 'romantic': the geometric constructions were built up from various sizes of steel, which he sometimes painted. He wanted the steel to float, but the blocks of Perspex needed to support the constructions undermined that aim. With works like 'Intersection', Pennock arrived at a clear concept: the rectangles keep each other in perfect balance: they are balancing on the edge of probability..
www.lonpennock.com:
His small sculptures and collages from the middle of the nineties in particular, are witness to the great virtuosity and freedom that Pennock has made his own. Pennock no longer needs to master the world with his monumental symbols. He paraphrases andcomments on sculptural art by also casting his assemblages in bronze. He commands the language of the material and, with practically nothing, knows how to pass subtle comment on the nature of things.
Lon Pennock: the language of material and the nature of things.
Jetteke Bolten-Rempt skulptuur 1968-2003 www.wikipedia.org:
Leonardus Petrus Paulus 'Lon' Pennock (22 May 1945, The Hague, 9 March 2020, The Hague) was a Dutch sculptor, environmental artist, monumental artist and photographer.
Pennock studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague from 1962 to 1967. He then continued his studies with a French scholarship to the cole nationale sup rieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris until 1968.
In 1969 he received both the Buys van Hulten price as the Jacob Maris incentive price. Twice he was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Social Work in 1973 and in 1979. Pennock was trained as a traditional sculptor, but quickly turned into an abstract, even minimalist artist. Pennock lived and worked in The Hague, where he was born. In 1983-84 together with Kees Verschuren he developed a structure plan for art in a recreation area in the town of Spaarnwoude.
Pennock was director of the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam from 1979 to 1990. The 1984 sculpture in Rotterdam, working title The River, was placed at the West Blaak not far from the front of the academy building.