TRANS///FER

26.08.2011 t/m 16.10.2011

CHRISTOPH GIRARDET / MATTHIAS MÜLLER (D)

- Locomotive

(2008) ///

1

2

TRANS///FER

Nelly Voorhuis / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////////////////////

The closing event for Atelier HSL is an international multi-disciplinary exhibition in train stations along the new High Speed Line from Amsterdam to Paris, on the trains, and alongside the line. New projects are being developed with artists, designers, a DJ/composer and film directors, all from or living in Europe. With this event a wide audience, the new passengers on the High Speed Line, but also the travellers on regular trains, will be brought in contact with visual art and culture.

The Atelier HSL Foundation was established in 2000 in order to direct attention to the cultural significance of the first High Speed Line (HSL-South) in The Netherlands during the period it was under construction. The new line was placed in service in 2009. The trip from Amsterdam to Rotterdam will now take only 36 minutes, and the traveller coming from Amsterdam will arrive in Paris after only 3.13 hours. In Brussels a traveller can transfer for the high-speed trains to London or, for instance, to various German and Spanish cities. Thus with the HSL, passengers can travel faster, more comfortably and in a more environmentally friendly manner to the heart of cities such as Brussels, Paris or London than they would by aeroplane or car.

The experience of travelling, of passing through the landscape and cities of one’s own country or a foreign land changed with the arrival of the high speed train line (HSL-South) in The Netherlands. The development of the HSL-South is a national project on an impressive scale. The nearly 100-kilometre route runs across The Netherlands and connect the country with the European network of high-speed rail lines. The HSL will contribute to already growing tourism, to the increasing globalisation of the economy and culture, and to the acceleration of the speed of our lives.The invention of the railway, and the possibilities for transportation that this development brought with it, has had an incredible influence on our Western culture.

The train was the first means of transportation that enabled a larger public to travel and explore the world. Our society today could not have been conceived without it.

Millions of travellers all over the world make use of trains every day.

Developments in the fields of urban planning and regional development are inse­parably linked with the rise of railways, both in the past and today. Moreover, railways have added a chapter to the history of architecture, concerning the architecture of railway terminals. The train has also left its traces across the landscape. The experience of travel has been altered by the rise of the railway – and will change yet again with the introduction of high-speed trains in The Netherlands.

The train has long been a source of inspiration for designers, photographers, architects, artists, filmmakers and composers. Visual artists such as the French painters Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Gustave Caillebotte and the Dutch painter Bart van der Leck were all intrigued by the technology and speed of the new means of transportation. Futurists such as Gino Severini visualised the speed by fragmenting the composition into cinematic images. Musicians such as Jean Sibelius, Igor Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten and Arthur Honneger paid homage to the train. And last but not least, in pop music the metaphor of the arriving or departing train is still frequently used in ‘love’ songs.

Before one could speak of mass tourism, our vision of the world was expanded by painting, photography and film. Paintings actually gave us the first depictions and representations we had of places that were different from our immediate surroundings. In the 19th century, throughout Europe and the United States, there were hundreds of panoramas, some permanent and some travelling or temporary, of the most diverse landscapes and cities. The panorama was the first attempt to offer people the experience of a different landscape.

The invention of the moving picture camera made it possible to show images taken of ‘a previously unknown world’ to a cinema audience. In the ‘phantom ride’, a film made with a camera that was affixed to the front of a train, the audience themselves had the experience of travelling.

For the exhibition Trans///fer, Atelier HSL gave commissions to artists to provide a contemporary interpretation of the history sketched above. The participating artists will illuminate this point of departure from diverse angles. Recurring themes include speed, the panorama, connections, topography, networks, nostalgia, Europe, travel and the future.

On the route from Amsterdam to Paris, via Schiphol, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels one will encounter artworks and installations realised through Atelier HSL on a temporary or permanent basis. As a traveller one will see these projects in the stations and on the platforms, under way in the train along the tracks, or in the train coaches. As a consequence, an extensive audience will spontaneously come in contact with these artworks. The visitor chooses his or her own route and destination.

INTRODUCTION

///

3

CHRISTOPH GIRARDET / MATTHIAS MÜLLER (D)

Locomotive (2008-2011) / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////////////////////

De film en de trein liggen elkaar sinds hun bestaan nauw aan het hart. Een van de allereerste iconische filmbeelden is van de gebroeders Lumière uit 1895: L’Arrivée d’un Train en Gare de la Ciotat toont een stoomtrein die het station komt binnenrijden. Niet alleen krijgt de trein regelmatig een rol in films toebedeeld, de trein werd van meet af aan ook gebruikt als hulpmiddel om filmopnames te maken. Een analogie tussen het kijken van een film en reizen met de trein is bovendien, dat ze beiden vanuit een stoel een blik op de wereld bieden.

De 3-screen video-installatie Locomotive stelt de innige relatie tussen het spoor en de film centraal. Het toont hoe geliefd filmbeelden van treinen en treinreizen zijn in de geschiedenis van de film. De thematiek van treinreizen blijkt genre-overstijgend en komt voor in melodrama’s, westerns, avant-garde films en actiefilm.

Klassieke treinscènes zijn vereeuwigd in speelfilms als Shanghai Express (1932), The Ghost Train (1941), Strangers on a Train (1951), From Russia with Love (1963), en in meer recentere films als Derailed (2005). Terugkerende generieke thema’s in al deze films zijn aankomst en vertrek, begin en afscheid, avontuur, lust, exotisme, ontmoeting en verlangen.

For as long as they have both existed, film and the train have been soul mates. In 1895, the Lumière brothers made one of the earliest iconic films: L’Arrivée d’un Train en Gare de la Ciotat shows a steam train entering a train station. Not only have trains regularly been allocated roles in films, but they were also used as vehicle for making moving shots. Moreover, there is an analogy between seeing a film and travelling by train: both offer the seated spectator a view on the world. These relations between the railway and film are central to the three-screen video installation Locomotive.

The project reveals how film images of trains and train travel are among the most popular subjects in film history. The theme of travel by rail appears to transcend cinematic genres: from melodrama to westerns and comedies, from avant-garde to action films. Classic train scenes are immortalized in feature films like Shanghai Express (1932), The Ghost Train (1941), Strangers on a Train (1951), From Russia with Love (1963) and in more recent films like Derailed (2005).

Among the recurrent generic themes in all these films are arrivals and departures, the beginning and ending of relationships, adventure, lust, exoticism, chance encounters and desire.

Geassisteerd door twee researchers hebben Christoph Girardet en Matthias Müller honderden films gescreend op genoemde thema’s. De gevonden fragmenten werden thematisch gegroepeerd in een database met onderwerpen als individuele passagiers, blik uit het raam, afscheidsscènes, trein en landschap, etc.

Uiteindelijk selecteerden ze beelden uit meer dan 500 speelfilms en monteerden zij deze tot een nieuw verhaal dat op drie schermen wordt weergegeven.

De filmfragmenten zijn gegroepeerd aan de hand van de pulse van de voortdenderende trein en het stroboscopisch effect van de voorbijglijdende beelden van landschappen en reizigers. De montage suggereert dat de reiziger een reis onderneemt die zich in verschillende tijdsperioden afspeelt. De film weerspiegelt onze reiservaring: wij kijken naar het landschap, verzinken in dagdromen, we laten de tijd voorbijgaan tijdens de duur van de treinreis.

Assisted by two researchers, Christoph Girardet and Matthias Müller screened hundreds of films with these themes. Fragments gathered from all of them were arranged in a database by subjects such as individual passengers, views from the window, farewell scenes, the train and the landscape, etc.

Ultimately they selected images from more than 500 feature films and edited them into a new work, shown on three screens. The film fragments are grouped by means of the pulse of the onrushing train and the stroboscopic effect created by the images of landscapes and travellers as they slip past.

The editing suggests that travellers from different eras are still engaged in a shared journey. The film reflects our experience of travel: we look at the landscape, sink back in our thoughts, and let time go by for the duration of the train ride.

Locomotive kan worden geplaatst in de traditie van de found footage, een manier van film maken waarbij bestaande beelden worden geassembleerd tot een nieuw beeld en hierdoor een nieuwe betekenis krijgen. Beroemde found footage filmmakers waren de Amerikaanse assemblage kunstenaars Joseph Cornell en Bruce Connor, maar ook de Engelse kunstenaars Douglas Gordon (24 Hour Psycho, 1993) en Johan Grimonprez (Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y, 1997) kunnen tot dit genre worden gerekend.

Locomotive can be placed in the film tradition of ‘found footage’, a cinematic method that involves assembling existing images from films and television into a new work, thus also giving them new meanings. The American assemblage artists Joseph Cornell and Bruce Connor are among the most famous found footage filmmakers, but the English artists Douglas Gordon (24 Hour Psycho, 1993) and Johan Grimonprez (Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y, 1997) also belong to this genre.

4

///

CHRISTOPH GIRARDET / MATTHIAS MÜLLER

Locomotive (2008-2011)

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Matthias Müller (1961) & Christoph Girardet (1966)

3 screen video installation /// Length: 20 minutes /// Production: Concept and editing Christoph Girardet & Matthias Müller /// Sound: Dirk Schaefer /// Image processing: Screenform.digital /// Mastering: video: arhouse /// Research assistance: Daniel Burkhardt, Volker Schreiner

Matthias Müller and Christoph Girardet have worked together on films, videos and installations since 1999.

The installations they make are comprised of montages of found footage films. The first project they realised together, Phoenix Tapes (1999), is a reinterpretation of the oeuvre of the filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. In Kristall, their latest film from 2006, they combine a multitude of images of mirrors taken from classic films, from which they construct a fascinating mosaic. The film was awarded the prize for Best Short Film at the Semaine Internationale de la Critique du Festival de Cannes in 2006.

Matthias Müller is a filmmaker, video artist, photographer and freelance curator. His work has been included in important exhibitions like Documenta X (Kassel) en Manifesta 3 (Ljubljana). His films have also been screened at various film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Rotterdam). In 1994 the Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted a retrospective of his work. His films and videos can be found in various collections, including those of the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris) and Museu d’Art Contemporani (Barcelona).

Christoph Girardet has worked as a video and installation artist since 1989. Among the institutions where his work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions are the Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven), MoMA PS1 (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (Oxford), the Hannover Kunstverrein and Palais de Tokyo (Paris). His films and videos are frequently screened at festivals, and he has received various prizes for his oeuvre.

Matthias Müller en Christoph Girardet werken sinds 1999 samen aan films, video’s en installaties. De installaties die ze maken bestaan uit montages van found footage films. Hun eerste gezamenlijke realisatie, Phoenix Tapes (1999), is een herinterpretatie van het oeuvre van filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. In hun laatste film Kristall, uit 2006, combineren zij een veelheid van spiegelbeelden, ontleend aan klassieke films, waarmee zij een fascinerende mozaïek opbouwen. De film behaalde de prijs van de beste korte film op de Semaine Internationale de la Critique du Festival de Cannes in 2006.

Matthias Müller is filmmaker, videokunstenaar, fotograaf en onafhankelijk curator. Zijn werk werd tentoon-gesteld op belangrijke tentoonstellingen als Documenta X (Kassel) en Manifesta 3 (Ljubljana). Ook was zijn werk te zien op verschillende filmfestivals (Cannes, Venetië, Berlijn en Rotterdam). In 1994 toonde het Museum of Modern Art te New York een retrospectief van het werk van Müller. Zijn films en video’s bevinden zich in collecties als Centre Georges Pompidou (Parijs) en Museu d’Art Contemporani (Barcelona).

Christoph Girardet werkt sinds 1989 als video- en installatiekunstenaar. Zijn werk werd o.a. getoond in solotentoonstellingen en groepsexposities in het Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven), MoMA PS1 (New York), Museum of Modern Art (Oxford), Kunstverrein (Hannover) en Palais de Tokyo (Parijs). Zijn films en video’s werden vertoond op verschillende festivals en zijn oeuvre werd bekroond met diverse prijzen.

CHRISTOPH GIRARDET / MATTHIAS MÜLLER

Locomotive (2008-2011) ///

5

SASKIA OLDE WOLBERS (NL)

Pareidolia Automation 01 (2011) / / / / / /////////////////////

Speciaal voor het Centraal Station van Amsterdam maakte Olde Wolbers de video projectie Pareidolia Automaton 01. De video toont een mysterieus vogelachtig wezen dat langzaam lijkt te ontwaken. In de in elkaar overvloeiende beelden zien we de vogel enigszins traag en mechanisch zijn vleugels spreiden terwijl het zijn kopje richting de hemel beweegt. Voor deze video experimenteerde Olde Wolbers met het geheugenmetaal Nitinol, een legering van gelijke delen nikkel en titanium. Dit metaal heeft de bijzondere mechanische eigenschap dat het tot 30 % kan vervormen en bij verwarming automatisch terugkeert naar zijn originele geometrie. Door dit regenererende vermogen wordt deze legering veel toegepast in de wereld van de animatronics. De titel Pareidolia Automaton 01 verwijst naar de techniek van de robotvogel, die gewichtloos onder water beweegt als ware het een autonoom opererende machine.

Refererend aan historische logo’s waarop vogels vaak symbool staan voor vrijheid, exotisme en verre reizen, brengt Olde Wolbers met dit werk ook een ode aan de vergane glorie van de eerste treinreizen. Met Pareidolia Automaton 01 geeft de kunstenaar de centrale stationshal bovendien een nieuw boegbeeld: ‘Built as an icon, a replica of nature and a hommage to the dream of the ultimate escape: flight.’

6

///

SASKIA OLDE WOLBERS Pareidolia

Automation 01 (2011)

Saskia Olde Wolbers made the video projection Pareidolia Automaton 01 for Amsterdam Central Station. The video shows a mysterious bird-like creature that seems to be slowly awakening. As the images flow into one another we see the creature somewhat slowly and mechanically spread its wings, while it moves its bird's head toward the wide open sky.

For this video Olde Wolbers experimented with the 'shape memory' metal nitinol, an alloy of equal parts of nickel and titanium. This alloy has the peculiar mechanical ability of undergoing a deformation of up to 30%, and then automatically recovering its original shape upon heating. Because of this regenerative capacity this alloy is frequently used in the world of animatronics.

The title Pareidolia Automaton 01 refers to the technique of the robot bird, which moves weightlessly under water, as if it were a machine operating autonomously.

Referring to historic logos in which birds symbolize freedom, exoticism and travel to distant places, Olde Wolbers pays tribute to the departed glory of the first train voyage. Furthermore, with this work the artist provides a new insignia for the central hall: ‘Built as an icon, a replica of nature and a homage to the dream of the ultimate escape: flight.’

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Saskia Olde Wolbers (1971)

Single screen video /// Length: 3 minutes 45 seconds /// Sound: silence

Saskia Olde Wolbers is a Dutch video artist who lives and works in London. She established her reputation with a series of short films of imaginary stories, for which she used a special camera to capture the compact film sets which she constructed herself, and later manipulated the film digitally “as animated equivalent to painting or sculpture”.

The intriguing combination of materials, which conjures up the viscous, hallucinatory effects of a feverous dream, is characteristic of her films. By combining the surrealist images with fictional stories that often refer to true events from her own life, or stories that she has picked up from the media, she creates an elusive phantom world hovering on the knife edge of dream and reality. Moreover, thorough the use of the classic voice-over, she gives her films the surprising character of a documentary report. The films Placebo - shown in 2002 in Tate Britain - and Interloper (2003) are roughly based on the character of Jean-Claude Romand - 'the man who faked his life' - a pathological liar who for years pretended to be a successful doctor and ultimately attempted suicide in 1993, after murdering his whole family.

In 2005 the work Trailers, about a man watching a trailer for a film, was screened in the South London Gallery and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Olde Wolbers has a number of solo exhibitions to her name, in Stedelijk Museum CS Amsterdam (2006), the Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal (2007), the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo (2008) and the Saint Louis Art Museum in Saint Louis. Her work is to be found in international collections such as SMAK (Ghent), and the South London Gallery. In 2003 Olde Wolbers won the illustrious Bâloise Prize at the Basel Art Fair, and in 2004 she won the Beck’s Futures Prize.

Saskia Olde Wolbers is een Nederlandse video kunstenaar. Ze woont en werkt in London. Ze verwierf bekendheid met een serie korte films van fictieve verhalen, waarin ze met met een speciale camera op zelf geconstrueerde compacte filmsets beelden vastlegt en later digitaal manipuleert ‘als een geanimeerd equivalent van een schilderij of beeldhouwwerk’. Kenmerkend voor haar films zijn de intrigerende combinaties van materialen, die het hallucinerende effect van een stroperige koortsdroom oproepen. Door de surrealistische beelden te combineren met fictieve verhalen, waarmee ze vaak verwijst naar gebeurtenissen uit haar eigen leven of verhalen die ze heeft opgepikt in de media, ontstaat een ongrijpbare schijnwereld, manoeuvrerend op het snijvlak van droom en werkelijkheid. Door het klassieke gebruik van voice-overs krijgen haar films bovendien het bevreemdende karakter van een reportage. De films Placebo - vertoond in 2002 in Tate Britain - en Interloper (2003) zijn in grote lijnen gebaseerd op het personage van Jean-Claude Romand - ‘the man who faked his life’ - een pathologische leugenaar die jarenlang pretendeerde een succesvol arts te zijn en in 1993 een poging tot zelfmoord deed, nadat hij eerst in koele bloede zijn hele familie had vermoord. In 2005 was het werk Trailers, over een man die naar een trailer van een film kijkt, te zien in de South London Gallery en de Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Olde Wolbers heeft meerdere solo tentoonstellingen op haar naam staan, onder andere in het Stedelijk Museum CS Amsterdam (2006), het Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2007), het Mori Art Museum in Tokyo (2008) en Saint Louis Art Museum in Saint Louis, Missouri (VS). Haar werk bevindt zich in internationale collecties als die van het S.M.A.K. te Gent en de South London Gallery. Olde Wolbers won in 2003 de gerenommeerde Bâloise Prize op de Basel Art Fair en in 2004 de Beck’s Futures Prize.

SASKIA OLDE WOLBERS Pareidolia

Automation 01 (2011) ///

7

SCANNER (UK)

Voyager: Amongst others (2011) / / / / / / //////////////////////

Reizen en muziek hebben een hechte relatie. Elke dag staren duizenden mensen uit het raam van een trein, begeleid door muziek uit hun mp3-speler. Je zou kunnen zeggen dat de muziek bijna fungeert als een soundtrack voor de film die zich voor hun ogen afspeelt. Daarnaast is het repetitieve, ritmische geluid van een rijdende trein op grote schaal gebruikt in de muziek, zowel in klassieke als moderne stukken.

In de compositie Voyager: Amongst others ‘scant’ de Britse multimedia kunstenaar/ muzikant Scanner het culturele landschap rondom het Nederlandse deel van de hogesnelheidslijn. De plaatsnamen spelen een cruciale rol in zijn empirische onderzoek naar de lokale betekenis van taal en identiteit, niet alleen omwille van hun taalkundige en topografische aspecten, maar ook omdat plaatsnamen vaak verwijzen naar historische figuren, oude ambachten en evenementen, en zo cultureel-historische associaties oproepen met betrekking tot de lokale tradities en volksgebruiken.

In zijn compositie mixt Scanner opgenomen geluiden (het geluid van de treinen, publieke aankondigingen in de stations, gesprekken, kerkklokken, draaiorgels, vogels in de wind) in een mystieke ‘soundscape’, waarmee hij een mentale brug bouwt tussen de wereld van de individuele reiziger in de trein en het landschap buiten, waardoor de trein voorbij raast. “Eenmaal verwijderd uit de fysieke kaart en in lijn met opnames van de plaats, de sfeer van de steden en de steden zelf, onderzoekt het werk de botsing tussen de fysieke ruimte en de menselijke geest”, legt Scanner uit. “Het werk omarmt zowel het culturele als het historische, de stad en de woestijn, en beoordeelt de regio die mensen bewonen, bezoeken, verdedigen, vernietigen en over het hoofd zien.”

8

///

SCANNER Voyager:

Amongst Others (2011)

Travel and music have a close relationship. Each day, thousands of people stare out of the window of a train, accompanied by music from their MP3 player. You could say that the music almost functions as a soundtrack for the film that passes in front of your eyes. In addition, the repetitive, rhythmic sound of a moving train is used extensively in music, both classical and more modern pieces.

In the composition Voyager: Amongst others British multimedia artist/musician Scanner ‘scans’ the cultural landscape of the Dutch section of the high-speed railway line.

The names of places play a crucial role in his empirical investigation of the local signi­ ficance of language and identity; not only because of their linguistic and topographic aspects, but also because place-names often refer to historical figures, old trades and events, and thus evoke cultural-historic associations with regard to local traditions and folk customs.

In his composition Scanner mixes recorded sounds (the sound of trains, public address announcements in stations, conversations, church bells, barrel organs, birds in the wind) into a mystic ‘soundscape’, with which he constructs a mental bridge between the world of the individual traveller in the train and the landscape outside through which the train races. “Removed from the physical map and aligned with recordings of the locality, the ambiance of the towns and cities themselves, the work explores the collision between physical space and the human mind”, Scanner explains.

“Embracing both the cultural and the historical; the city and the wilderness, this work appraises the geographies people inhabit, visit, defend, destroy and overlook.”

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Soundpiece /// Length: 50 minutes

Robin Rimbaud / Scanner (1971) De Britse multimedia-artiest / muzikant Robin Rimbaud opereert onder de naam SCANNER. Hij werd beroemd om de cd’s waarop zijn muziek werd gecombineerd met fragmenten van de mobiele telefoon gesprekken die hij had afgeluisterd’ en vervormd. Tussen 2004 en 2005 werkte hij samen met de Duitse kunstenaar Mayer in Berlijn en Leipzig aan Sound Train, een live-performance / filmprojectie opgebouwd rond het thema van reizen, spoorwegen en geschiedenis.

Scanner heeft vele performances op zijn naam staan, o.a. in gerenommeerde zalen als de Londense Hayward Gallery, Tate Modern, het Centre Pompidou in Parijs, de Kunsthalle in Wenen en het San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Hij componeerde muziek voor het Bolsjoi Theater in Moskou en The Royal Opera House in Londen. Hij componeerde ook in opdracht van de Europese Commissie de hymne Europa 25, ter ere van het nieuwe Europa.

The British multimedia artist / musician Robin Rimbaud operates under the name SCANNER. He became famous for the cd’s on which his music was mixed with fragments of mobile telephone conversations he had ‘tapped’ and deformed.

Between 2004 and 2005 he collaborated with the German artist Mayer in Berlin and Leipzig on Sound Train, a live performance/film projection built around the theme of travel, railways and history.

Scanner has many performances to his name, at such renowned venues as London's Hayward Gallery, Tate Modern, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Kunsthalle in Vienna and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He has composed music for the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and The Royal Opera House in London. He was also commissioned by the European Commission to compose the European Union anthem Europe 25, in honour of the new Europe.

SCANNER Voyager:

Amongst Others (2011) ///

9

YVES BÉLORGEY (FR)

Twiske West Panorama (2008-2011) /////////////////////// Architect: Liesbeth van der Pol Constructie: 1991-1993

Met het werk Twiske West Panorama van Yves Bélorgey wordt een oude traditie van monumentale realistische wandschilderingen in stationsgebouwen nieuw leven ingeblazen. Historische voorbeelden van deze schilderkunstige traditie zijn de panoramische wandschildering van de Vierwaldstädter See in het station te Basel, Zwitserland en het sociaal realistische werk van Peter Alma in het Amstel Station in Amsterdam. In opdracht van Atelier HSL maakte de Franse schilder Yves Bélorgey voor de tunnelwand van het station Schiphol een immens panorama doek (zeven panelen van drie bij drie meter) waarvoor hij zich liet inspireren door ‘scenic railways’, populaire attracties uit de vroege twintigste eeuw, vergelijkbaar met de huidige achtbanen, en genoemde voorbeelden van panoramaschilderkunst in treinstations.

In tegenstelling tot zijn voorgangers kiest Bélorgey echter niet voor meeslepende heroïek, maar juist voor een alledaags onderwerp: Twiske West, een in 1993 opgeleverd sociaal woningbouw project in Amsterdam Noord, nabij de A10.

The work Twiske West Panorama by Yves Bélorgey breathes new life into the old tradition of monumental, realistic murals in railway stations. Among the finest examples of this tradition of paintings on the walls of railway stations are the panoramic mural of the Vierwaldstädter See in the station at Basel, Switzerland, and Peter Alma’s social-realist work in Amsterdam’s Amstel Station. Commissioned by the HSL, the French painter Yves Bélorgey created the work Twiske West, an immense, panoramic canvas (seven panels of three by three meter) for the tunnel wall of the Schiphol trainstation. He was inspired by ‘scenic railways’, popular attractions from the early twentieth century, comparable to today’s roller coasters, and examples of panorama painting in train stations.Unlike his predecessors, however, Bélorgey did not opt for stirring heroics, but for a commonplace subject: Twiske West, a social housing project along the A10 motorway in Amsterdam North, completed in 1993.

Volgens Bélorgey brengt de HSL-Zuid niet alleen hoofdsteden dichter bij elkaar, maar profiteren ook de perifere stedelijke gebieden ervan. Twiske West is zo’n gebied. Daarbij is Bélorgey gefascineerd door de cilindrische vorm en de natuurlijke uitstraling van dit woningbouwcomplex naar ontwerp van architect Liesbeth van der Pol. Door de positionering van de bouwblokken hebben de woningen een panoramisch zicht op het omliggende landelijke gebied.

Het werk toont in zeven delen een scenic view op het moderne Nederlandse landsschap waarin woningbouw projecten als Twiske West een steeds dominantere rol innemen. Twiske West staat voor het echte, hedendaagse Nederland, zoals ooit de Zaanse Schans dit symboliseerde.

Bélorgey believes that the HSL-South line not only brings European capital cities closer together, but also benefits the areas on their periphery. The subject he chose, Twiske West, is one such place. The mural reveals Bélorgey’s fascination with the cylindrical forms and the natural aura of this residential complex, designed by the architect Liesbeth van der Pol. The manner in which the blocks of buildings are positioned allows the dwellings to have a panoramic view of the surrounding rural area.

The work, in seven sections, provides a scenic view of a modern Dutch landscape, in which residential projects such as Twiske West are becoming an increasingly dominant factor. Twiske West stands for the ‘real’ Netherlands, in the same way that it was once symbolised by the Zaanse Schans.

10

///

YVES BÉLORGEY

Twiske West Panorama (2008-2011)

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Yves Bélorgey (1960) Yves Bélorgey werd bekend met monumentale doeken van stedelijke landschappen waarin met name moderne architectuur uit de jaren ’60 figureert. Zijn interesse gaat vooral uit naar vormen van perifere architectuur met idealistische en utopische denkbeelden over wonen, werken en recreëren als uitgangspunt. Hij reist veel; door heel Europa bezoekt hij bijzondere sociale nieuwbouwprojecten. Zijn talrijke foto’s van architectuur vormen de basis voor zijn schilderijen, die hij als geïsoleerde objecten ziet. De mens is in zijn werk nooit direct aanwezig maar laat indirect laat wel zijn sporen achter: de was hangt te drogen en planten sieren het balkon. Ondanks diens afwezigheid op het doek stelt Bélorgey hiermee de gebruiker en zijn omgang met de architectuur centraal. Door zijn werkwijze en alledaagse thematiek heeft zijn oeuvre een sterk documentair karakter, dat men vooral kent van fotografie en film. Zijn werk vangt de geest van de tijd en heeft daardoor ook historische waarde.

Bélorgeys werk was te zien in solo-exposities en groepstentoonstellingen bij o.a. Miró Foundation (Barcelona), Kunstverein (Bonn), Institut d’Art Contemporain (Villeurbanne), Grand Palais (Parijs) en Alliance Française (Rotterdam). Zijn schilderijen bevinden zich in verschillende museale collecties in Frankrijk en Zwitserland.

Yves Bélorgey is known for his monumental canvases of urban landscapes, in which modern architecture of the 1960s plays a prominent role. He is especially interested in forms of peripheral architecture with idealistic and utopian concepts for living, working and recreation as their point of departure. He travels extensively, and has visited unusual new social projects all across Europe. The numerous architectural photos he makes form the basis for his paintings, which he sees as autonomous objects. People are never directly present in his work, but indirectly they leave traces of their presence behind: laundry hangs out to dry and plants adorn the balconies. In this way Bélorgey is able to make the users and their relationships with the architecture a central subject in his work, despite their absence from the canvas. Because of his way of working and his commonplace themes, his oeuvre takes on a strongly documentary character, which one would primarily associate with photography and film. The work captures the spirit of the times, and thus also has historic value.

His work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions at the Miró Foundation (Barcelona), Bonn Kunstverein (Germany), the Institut d’Art Contemporain (Villeurbanne, France), the Grand Palais (Paris), Alliance Française (Rotterdam) and other venues. His paintings are to be found in the collections of various museums in France and Switzerland.

Paintings: Seven 3 x 3 m panels /// Oil on canvas, with special varnish /// Production period: 2008-2011 /// Assistants: Simon Bergala, Laurent Proux, Ludmila Volf

YVES BÉLORGEY

Twiske West Panorama (2008-2011) /// 11

JAN DE BONT (NL/US)

Surfing on Light (2011) / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////////////////////

Voordat er sprake was van grootschalig toerisme werd onze blik op de wereld vergroot via schilderkunst, fotografie en film. Schilderijen toonden eigenlijk de eerste af- en verbeeldingen van plekken die anders waren dan onze directe omgeving. In de negentiende eeuw ontstonden in Europa en de Verenigde Staten honderden al dan niet reizende of tijdelijke panorama’s van de meest uiteenlopende landschappen en stadsgezichten. Het panorama was de eerste poging om mensen een ervaring te bieden van een ander landschap.

Twee andere negentiende-eeuwse uitvindingen, de trein en fotografie, hebben de manier waarop wij de wereld beschouwen drastisch veranderd. De trein was het eerste vervoermiddel dat reizen op grote schaal mogelijk maakte. De uitvinding van de filmcamera maakte het ook mogelijk om beelden van een voorheen onbekende wereld aan een (bioscoop) publiek te laten zien. De ‘phantom ride’, een film gemaakt met een camera die was aangebracht op de voorkant van een rijdende trein, bood het publiek de ervaring van het reizen; het begin van een trend die uiteindelijk zou leiden tot attracties in pretparken als Disney World en Universal studio’s. De nieuwe hogesnelheidstreinen zullen hier binnenkort een extra dimensie aan toevoegen.

Voor Atelier HSL creëerde Jan de Bont een driedimensionale video-installatie op vier schermen. Volledig omgeven door grote schermen op korte afstand zal de kijker de verbazingwekkende kracht van het ‘Nederlandse licht’, gecombineerd met een hoge snelheid ervaren. De driedimensionale beelden maken deze ervaring nog meer uniek doordat zij de kijker het gevoel geven zich midden in het landschap te begeven.

12

///

JAN DE BONT

Surfing on Light (2011)

Before one could speak of mass tourism, our vision of the world was expanded by painting, photography and film. Paintings actually gave us the first depictions and representations of places that were different from our immediate surroundings.

In the 19th century, throughout Europe and the United States there were hundreds of panoramas, some permanent and some travelling or temporary, of the most diverse landscapes and cities. The panorama was the first attempt to offer people the experience of a different landscape.

Two other 19th century inventions, the train and photography, have drastically altered our way of seeing the world. The train was the first means of transportation that made travel possible on a large scale. The invention of the moving picture camera also made it possible to show images taken of a previously unknown world to a (cinema) audience. The ‘phantom ride’, a film made with a camera that was affixed to the front of a moving train, offered the audience the experience of travelling; the beginning of a trend that would eventually lead to attractions in theme parks including Disney World and Universal Studios. The new High Speed Trains will soon add an extra dimension to this.

For Atelier HSL, Jan de Bont created a four-screen, three-dimensional video installation. Fully surrounded by large screens at close distance, the viewer will experience the amazing power of ‘Dutch light’, combined with high speed. The three-dimensional images make this experience even more unique as they put the viewer right ‘inside’ the landscape.

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Jan de Bont (1943)

4 screen 3D video with Dolby 7.1 surround sound /// Length: 3 minutes and 40 seconds /// Director / Cameraman: Jan de Bont /// 3D camera Equipment: Camelot, More2Cam /// 3D research: Guy Molin, Yke Erkens /// Editing Michelle Hofman /// Post production: Storm /// Sound: F.C Walvisch /// Music: Lin Hai & Friends, ‘Playing with Clouds’, 2003 /// Executive producer: von Filmenstein/Ewald Rettich /// Commissioner/ producer: Foundation Atelier HSL

Jan de Bont begon in Nederland als cameraman van documentaires en films van regisseur Paul Verhoeven en anderen.

Samen met Verhoeven maakte De Bont filmklassiekers als Turks Fruit (1973), Keetje Tippel (1975) en De Vierde Man (1983). Midden jaren zeventig ging hij naar de Verenigde Staten. Daar was hij als cameraman betrokken bij films als Die Hard (1988), Black Rain (1989), The Hunt for the Red October (1990), Lethal Weapon 3 (1991), Flatliners (1993) en Verhoevens Basic Instinct (1992). Als cameraman is hij meester in het filmen van explosies, stunts en grootse actiescènes met een altijd bewegende camera. In 1993 maakt hij zijn regiedebuut met de film Speed. Daarna regisseerde hij ook Twister (1996), Speed 2; Cruise Control (1997), The Haunting (1999) en Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001).

Jan de Bont began in The Netherlands as a cameraman for many documentary films as well as films by director Paul Verhoeven and others. Together with Verhoeven De Bont made Dutch film classics like Turks Fruit (1973), Keetje Tippel (1975) and De Vierde Man (1983). He moved to the United States in the mid-1970s. There he was involved as a cameraman on films such as Die Hard (1988), Black Rain (1989), The Hunt for the Red October (1990), Lethal Weapon 3 (1991), Flatliners (1993) and Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1992). As a cameraman he is a master in putting the audience in the middle of explosions, stunts and large-scale action scenes using a constantly moving camera.

In 1993 he made his debut as director with the film Speed. He also directed Twister (1996), Speed 2; Cruise Control (1997), The Haunting (1999) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001).

This was made possible with the assistance of: Infraspreed Maintenance, NS Hispeed, ProRail

JAN DE BONT Surfing

on Light (2011) /// 13

ALEXANDRA BIRCKEN (D)

Snag // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ///////////////////////

In samenwerking met kunstenaar en muzikant Thomas Brinkmann ontwierp Alexandra Bircken het kunstwerk Snag; een levensgrote kopie van een negentiendeeeuws smeedijzeren scheepsanker. Zij maakten dit ontwerp speciaal voor het HSL-platform in de nieuwe uitbreiding van Antwerpen Centraal Station. Het beeld hangt rustig in de lucht, aan een ovaalvormige ketting dat bevestigd is aan het betonnen plafond.

Moet dit krachtige symbool van hoop gezien worden als een verwijzing naar de oude ziel van de historische havensteden Antwerpen en Amsterdam, die nu met elkaar verbonden zijn door de HSL-lijn? Of is dit anker eerder bedoeld als een sieraad; de uitvergroting van een bedeltje aan een ketting of armband, en op die wijze een Beuysiaans commentaar op de omgeving van het station, met zijn vele Joodse juwelierszaken en trendy modeboutiques?

Schijn bedriegt, zo lijkt het als we het object nader bekijken. Het anker is niet een smeedijzeren replica, maar een kopie van verchroomd staal, en net als de bijbehorende ketting het is een tweedimensionale abstractie van het origineel.

De bovenkant is ‘getatoeëerd’ met een mysterieus symbool; het is een inscriptie van het Hebreeuwse woord ‘Noah’. De link met de oudste boot in de geschiedenis, de Ark van Noach, is natuurlijk direct gelegd. Maar de sleutel tot de diepere symboliek ligt in de oorspronkelijke betekenis van het woord Noah in de Proto-Germaanse taal: rust, rust en kalmte. Bircken verwijst hiermee op subtiele wijze naar de sereniteit van een boot die voor anker ligt. Een groter contrast tussen dit romantische, symbolische beeld en de moderne wereld die op hoge snelheid aan ons voorbij raast in het dagelijks verkeer is welhaast ondenkbaar.

Met de perfectie van het gepolijste chroom op het robuuste object neemt Bircken de kijker mee in haar associatieve wereld waarin veranderlijkheid, het echte en het kunstmatige met elkaar in dialoog gaan. Uiteraard zal de passerende reiziger de symboliek van het anker niet snel vergeten; met Snag zal het treinplatform zich letterlijk en figuurlijk zich in het collectieve geheugen verankeren.

14

///

ALEXANDRA BIRCKEN Snag

In collaboration with artist and musician Thomas Brinkmann, Alexandra Bircken designed the sculpture Snag, ostensibly a life-sized copy of a 19th century wrought iron ship anchor, designed especially for the platform of the High-Speed Line in the new expansion of Antwerp’s Central Station. The sculpture hangs serenely in the air, from an oval shaped chain attached to the concrete ceiling.

Does Bircken, with this powerful symbol of hope, refer to the old soul of the historic port cities of Antwerp and Amsterdam, now linked by the High-Speed Line?

Or is this anchor rather intended as an item of jewellery, the enlargement of a charm one might find on a necklace, and thus a Beuysian commentary on the area surrounding the train station, with its many Jewish jewellery shops and trendy fashion boutiques?

It seems that appearances can be deceiving, once we observe particular details of the sculpture. The anchor is not a wrought iron replica but a copy assembled from chrome plated steel, and like the accompanying anchor chain it is a refined two-dimensional abstraction of an original ship’s anchor.

Furthermore, it appears that the top of the anchor is ‘tattooed’ with a mysterious boat-shaped symbol. On further examination we see the inscription of the Hebrew word ‘Noah’. The link with the oldest boat in history, Noah’s Ark, is of course quickly forged, but the key to the deeper significance of this sculpture lies in the original meaning of the word Noah in Proto-Germanic language: calmness, quiet and tranquillity. Bircken thus refers subtly to the serene mystery of an anchored boat at rest. A bigger contrast between this romantic image and the world that hurtles past us in today’s high-speed traffic is almost inconceivable.

Through the perfection of the polished chrome finish on the originally robust object, Bircken takes the viewer with her into an associative world in which mutability, the real and the artificial interrogate one another. Obviously, the passing traveller will not quickly forget the elevated symbolism of the hanging anchor. There is every chance that Bircken’s Snag will permanently vitalise the platform by firmly anchoring it in the collective memory of many a passenger.

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Alexandra Bircken (1967)

Chromed aluminium anchor

Alexandra Bircken studied fashion in London, after which she evolved as a visual artist with her own highly characteristic visual language. Her oeuvre is largely comprised of assemblages featuring everyday ephemera like wood, knitted fragments and twigs. Her work has strong references to traditional craft practices and to the natural world, from which she sources her materials.

In 2008 Bircken debuted in Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, with the installation Units, consisting of five ‘spatial sculpture formations’ comprised of metal frames, that form the context for unorthodox structures of bent tree branches and brightly coloured woollen webs, into which painted wood, leather, stones, dried plants and flowers are woven.

In 2010 the Kölnischer Kunstverein presented Bircken’s solo exhibition Blondie, an installation of free-standing sculptures, objects and wall works that the artist developed out of pieces of vintage clothing, wood, concrete, hair, wool and utensils. Bircken’s sculptural installations can be found in prominent international collections such as the Saatchi Gallery (London), the De la Cruz Collection/Contemporary Art Space (Miami) and the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum (Rotterdam).

Alexandra Bircken studeerde mode in Londen, waarna zij zich ontwikkelde tot beeldend kunstenaar met een zeer eigen, karakteristieke beeldtaal. Haar oeuvre bestaat grotendeels uit assemblages met alledaagse materialen als hout, breisels en takken. Haar werk kent sterke verwijzingen naar traditionele ambachten en de natuurlijke wereld, waarin zij ook haar materialen verzamelt.

In 2008 debuteerde Bircken in het Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam met de installatie Units, bestaande uit vijf ruimtelijke sculpturen: metalen frames vormen het geraamte van onorthodoxe structuren van gebogen takken en felgekleurde wollen ‘spinnenwebben’, waarin geschilderd hout, leer, stenen, en gedroogde planten en bloemen verweven zijn.

In 2010 had Bircken een solotentoonstelling in de Kölnischer Kunstverein getiteld Blondie: een installatie van vrijstaande sculpturen, objecten en muurobjecten die zij vervaardigde uit vintage kleding, hout, beton, haar, wol en keukengerei. Sculpturale installaties van Bircken zijn o.a. te vinden in de Saatchi Gallery (Londen), de De la Cruz Collection/Contemporary Art Space (Miami) en Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam).

This project was made possible with the assistance of: B - Holding, La Gare - het Station

ALEXANDRA BIRCKEN

Snag /// 15

MADELON VRIESENDORP (NL/UK)

Cultural Journey: High and Low / / / / / / ////////////////////// ‘Het interieur moet “rijdend” zijn; niet met ornamenten, het moet het wezen van een “The interior must ‘ride’, not be ornamented; it must have the essence of a train; fast... A train must not be a drawing room. No one would think of furnishing an autrein hebben; snel… Een trein mag geen “salonnetje” zijn; niemand denkt erover tomobile like a living room, that is not its function.” Thus wrote Elsebeth van Blerkom een auto als een huiskamer in te richten, dat is zijn functie niet.’

Aldus Elsebeth van Blerkom in een voordracht gepubliceerd in Het Parool in 1952. in an essay published in Dutch newspaper Het Parool in 1952. Together with Ineke Van Blerkom vormde samen met Ineke Boks het eerste Nederlandse interieurarchi- Boks she opened Hollands first interior architecture firm, that from the 1950s on was involved in assignments by Werkspoor for the design of the interiors and exteriors of tectenbureau dat zich vanaf de jaren vijftig in opdracht van Werkspoor bezig hield trains in The Netherlands. Their ideas regarding the functionality of the interior chamet het ontwerpen van exterieurs en interieurs van treinen. De ideeën ten aanzien racterise an attitude that is still common among train designers. van de functionaliteit van het interieur van deze eerste industrieel ontwerpers kenmerken een houding die nog steeds gangbaar is bij hedendaagse ontwerpers van According to Madelon Vriesendorp, to many people travel is an ultimate quest for culture, entertainment and shopping. This closely-knit mix of elitist and popular forms treininterieurs. of leisure also finds its expression in most big museums, where the experience of art Volgens Madelon Vriesendorp is het hedendaagse reizen voor velen een ultieme competes with experiences gained in the museum café and the museum shop, on zoektocht naar cultuur, entertainment en winkelen. Deze nauwe vermenging van the shelves of which all sorts of desirable design gadgets bridge the gap between ‘hoge’ en ‘lage’ vormen van cultuur en vermaak komt ook tot uiting in de meeste ‘real’ art and souvenirs. In a time of fast food and high speed trains one could also grote musea, waar de beleving van kunst moet opboksen tegen de ervaring opgedaan in het museumcafé en de museumwinkel. Hier dichten allerlei begerens- speak of Fast Art: a quick bridge to culture, with recognisable, portable replicas of waardige design gadgets het gat tussen de echte kunst en de souvenirs. In een tijd those favourite artworks we could never afford. It is this theme of Fast Art that forms van fast food en hogesnelheidstreinen zou je kunnen spreken van het verschijnsel: the basis for Vriesendorp’s design for the Thalys.

Fast art. Een snelle brug naar cultuur met herkenbare, draagbare replica’s van onze For the walls of the buffet car on the Thalys, Vriesendorp designed a surrealist cultufavoriete kunstwerken die we ons zelf nooit kunnen veroorloven. Deze thematiek van ral landscape assembled of classical masterpieces. The ‘masterpiece landscape’, which runs along the upper wall of the car like a classic frieze, is an homage to a Fast Art vormt de basis voor Vriesendorps ontwerp voor de Thalys.

Speciaal voor de wanden van de buffetwagon van de Thalys ontwierp Vriesendorp world populated by familiar cultural icons (both popular and more elitist) from The een surrealistisch cultuurlandschap, samengesteld uit klassieke meesterwerken uit Netherlands, Belgium and France. While having a bite, the traveller enjoys the company of TinTin, the Michelin Man, Barbar, Vincent van Gogh, a spilled milk bucket, a de schilderkunst. Het ‘meesterwerk landschap’, dat als een klassiek fries aan de schooner, and others. They are familiar images that astonish and amuse, and prove bovenzijde van de wagon doorloopt, brengt een ode aan een wereld bevolkt met their ability to bridge generations. vertrouwde culturele iconen (populaire en meer elitaire) uit Nederland, België en Frankrijk. De consumerende reiziger ziet Kuifje, TinTin, het Michelinmannetje, Barbar, Van Gogh, een omgevallen melkemmertje en een schoener de revue passeren. Het zijn bekende beelden die verbazen en amuseren en in staat blijken verschillende generaties te overbruggen.

16

///

MADELON VRIESENDORP

Cultural Journey: High and Low

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Madelon Vriesendorp (1945)

Original drawings tranferred on folio print

Madelon Vriesendorp studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, after which she restored old frescos and worked as a versatile designer for costumes, books and jewellery. After graduating from her course at the Central St. Martins School of Art in London, she moved to New York with her husband Rem Koolhaas. In 1975 she joined Koolhaas, Elia and Zoe Zenghelis in establishing the OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture). As far back as the late 1960s Vriesendorp had begun painting urban environments in a highly personal, surrealistic style. Her ominous theme of the deserted city is somewhat related to the late work of De Chirico, where empty city squares define the picture.

Vriesendorp’s oeuvre has been shown worldwide and is collected by the MoMa and Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. In 2008 Architectural Associates organised a large retrospective exhibition of her work in London. Later that year this was to be seen in Berlin (Aedes) and at the Architecture Biënnale in Venice. In 2009 the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel devoted a solo exhibition to her work.

This project was made possible with the assistance of: Thalys International

Madelon Vriesendorp studeerde aan de Gerrit Rietveld academie in Amsterdam, waarna ze oude fresco’s restaureerde en werkte als veelzijdig ontwerper van kostuums, boeken en sierraden. Na een opleiding aan de Central St Martins School of Art in Londen vertrok ze met haar man Rem Koolhaas naar New York. Samen met Koolhaas, Elia en Zoe Zenghelis richtte zij in 1975 OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) op.

Al sinds de late jaren 60 schildert Vriesendorp stedelijke omgevingen in een zeer eigen surrealistische stijl. De dreigende thematiek van de verlaten stad is enigszins verwant aan het late werk van De Chirico, waar lege pleinen het beeld bepalen. Het oeuvre van Vriesendorp is wereldwijd tentoongesteld en verzameld door o.a. MoMa en Guggenheim (New York), Centre Pompidou (Parijs) en het Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. In 2008 organiseerde de Architectural Associates in London een groot overzicht tentoonstelling van haar werk. In 2009 wijdde het Zwitserse Architectuur Museum in Basel een solo tentoonstelling aan haar werk.

MADELON VRIESENDORP

Cultural Journey: High and Low ///

17

PIPILOTTI RIST (CH)

You called me Jacky (1990) / / / / / / / / / / / / ///////////////////// Het traject tussen de stations Brussel-Zuid en Brussel Centraal is een van de drukste spoortrajecten ter wereld. Grote aantallen reizigers arriveren, vertrekken en wachten dagelijks op deze stations. Gare de Bruxelles-Midi (Station Brussel-Zuid) is een belangrijk knooppunt voor internationale HSL treinen. Vanaf hier vertrekt de Eurostar naar Londen, de Thalys naar Amsterdam en Parijs en de ICE International naar Keulen en Frankfurt. Dit drukke station is de bewust gekozen omgeving voor de video-installatie You called me Jacky (1990) van Pipilotti Rist. In de eindeloze maalstroom van vertrekkende en aankomende treinen biedt deze video een punt van rust, herkenning en verstrooiing.

The tracks between Brussels South and Brussels Central are some of the busiest in the world. Huge numbers of travellers arrive, depart and wait on the platforms every day. Gare de Bruxelles-Midi (Brussels South) is an important transfer point for international HSL trains. The Eurostar departs from there for London, the Thalys for Amsterdam or Paris, and the ICE International for Cologne and Frankfurt.

The busy station at Brussels South was deliberately chosen as the surroundings for the video installation You called me Jacky (1990) by Pipilotti Rist. The video provides a point of rest, recognition and diversion in the endless maelstrom of arriving and departing trains.

In de video You called me Jacky zien we Rist playbackend en gesticulerend een persiflage brengen op het lied ‘Jackie and Edna’ van de Engelse singer-songwriter Kevin Coyne. De frontale opnamen van een zingende Rist vormen letterlijk het vaste middelpunt van de video-installatie; op de achtergrond passeren beelden van een treinreis de revue. Ritmische fragmenten van spoorwegen, vergezichten op landschappen en stations trekken aan de kijker voorbij. Als de camera inzoomt op een coupé verandert ook Rists centrale positie in het beeld.

Er is een onderhuidse spanning voelbaar tussen de aanvankelijk tragisch en statisch ogende imitatie van Rist en de pakkende melodie van het lied over een verloren liefde. Terwijl het landschap voorbijglijdt, verschijnt Rist plotseling in haar nieuwe gedaante, mooi gekapt en gekleed in een mouwloze, zwarte zomerjurk. Ze lijkt te zijn veranderd in een zelfbewuste, onafhankelijke vrouw, de verloren liefde voorbij.

In the video You called me Jacky we see Rist, gesticulating and lip syncing, performing a parody of the song ‘Jackie and Edna’ by the English singer-songwriter/ musician Kevin Coyne. The frontal shots of Rist performing are literally the fixed middle point of the video installation, while images from travel by train slide by in the background. Rhythmic fragments of railways, vistas, landscapes and stations pass before the viewer’s eyes. As the video zooms in on a train compartment, its central position in the image also changes.

Under the surface there is a perceptible tension between the initially tragic and static imitation performed by Rist and the catchy melody of the song about a lost love.

While the landscape slips past, Rist suddenly appears in a new guise. Beautifully coiffured, wearing a sleeveless black summer dress, she seems to be transformed into a self-confident, independent woman, leaving behind her lost love.

18

///

PIPILOTTI RIST

You called me Jacky

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Pipilotti Rist (1962)

Video single screen /// Length: 4 minutes /// Music: Kevin Coyne ‘Jackie and Edna’

In her work the versatile video artist Pipilotti Rist offers an idiosyncratic look at the world, through a technique related to video clips. Her dreamlike installations, which are often comprised of various layers of images and projections, reinforce the sense of their own artificiality by the use of intense colours and abstract images produced by extreme close-ups.

For their content she makes use of ‘internal images’ such as dreams and emotions. Her work is further characterized by striking music that she sometimes performs herself, which sticks in the mind for its infectious, repetitive melodies.

Rist’s work has been shown and acquired for collections worldwide. Among the venues where she has had solo exhibitions or been part of group shows are the MOMA in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlin), the Centre Pompidou, ‘À la belle étoile’ (Paris), the Venice Biënnale, and the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.

This project was made possible in part by Clear Channel and Publifer.

De veelzijdige videokunstenaar Pipilotti Rist biedt in haar werk een eigenzinnige blik op de wereld, met een aan videoclips verwante techniek. In haar dromerige installaties, die vaak uit verschillende beeldlagen en projecties bestaan, wordt het idee van kunstmatigheid versterkt, o.a. door het gebruik van felle kleuren en beeldabstracties door middel van extreme close-ups. Daarbij maakt Rist gebruik van ‘interne beelden’ als dromen en emoties. Kenmerkend voor haar werk is verder de opmerkelijke muziek, die ze soms zelf ten gehore brengt en waarvan de aanstekelijke, zich herhalende, melodieën lang blijven doorwerken. Rist’s work has been bought and exhibited all over the world. Het werk van Rist werd wereldwijd aangekocht en vertoond. Zij had o.a. solotentoonstellingen in MOMA, (New York), Museum of Contemporary Art (San Francisco), Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris en Centre Pompidou (Parijs), Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlijn), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam) op de Biënnale van Venetië.

PIPILOTTI RIST You

called me Jacky /// 19

JOHN KÖRMELING (NL)

Sunny Cloud / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ///////////////////// MEETING POINT VOOR ZES NSP-STATIONS Vanaf het einde van de negentiende eeuw werden gebouwen traditioneel verrijkt met ornamenten, schilderijen, beeldhouwwerken; op artistiek terrein werd een schaal­ vergroting en intensivering van de gebouwgebonden beeldende kunst zichtbaar.

Het Centraal Station van Amsterdam, ontworpen door P.J.H Cuypers, behoort tot het eerste Nederlandse negentiende-eeuwse wereldlijke gebouw met veel decoratieve sculptuur. In de twintigste eeuw werd deze traditie voortgezet; op verschillende stations werd kunst geïntegreerd in de architectuur. Het boek Stationsarchitectuur in Nederland 1938-1998, van NS Rail spoorwegarchitect ir C. Douma, beschrijft niet alleen de architectuur van de stations, maar ook welke kunstenaars werken hebben vervaardigd voor de verschillende stations. Voorbeelden van deze kunstwerken zijn de grafische patronen van Peter Struycken in Breda, de decoraties en bronzen zuil van Babette Treuman en Peer Veneman voor Almere en het vuurtoren object van Aldo Rossi in Leeuwarden.

Het idee om een meervoudige schetsopdracht voor meeting points in de (nieuw te bouwen) HSL-stations te organiseren was afkomstig van de voormalig voorzitter van het bestuur van Atelier HSL, Maarten van Eeghen, destijds Directeur-Generaal van Personenvervoer bij het ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat. In de plannen voor de HSL-stations was tot dan toe geen meeting point opgenomen, maar er bleek wel degelijk behoefte te zijn aan een goed zichtbaar en duidelijk afspreekpunt, zoals bijvoorbeeld het opvallende meeting point/kunstwerk van Dennis Adam op Schiphol.

In 2005 werd een meervoudige internationale schetsopdracht gegeven voor een nieuw meeting point voor meerdere treinstations. Bij de opdracht werd een voorkeur uitgesproken voor een modulaire vorm die ruimte bood om het kunstwerk aan te passen aan de architectuur van de verschillende stations (Amsterdam CS, Rotterdam Centraal, Breda, Utrecht CS, Den Haag CS, Arnhem), zonder daarbij het oorspronkelijke doel van afspreekpunt uit het oog te verliezen. Het kunstwerk moest functioneren als een zelfstandig kunstwerk dat alleen dient als meeting point; op de stations worden immers al voldoende faciliteiten gecreëerd voor verpozen (lounges, restauraties), de verkoop van lectuur, bloemen, en versnaperingen en voor informatie­ balies. Belangrijk was dat het meeting point zowel herkenbaar moest zijn voor (internationale) reizigers, een aansprekende en aantrekkelijke beeldende vorm moest hebben die te allen tijde zichtbaar moet zijn, en tevens een ‘veilige’ plek moest zijn om te wachten, te midden van de vervoersstromen. Uiteraard moet het ontwerp ook een verbeelding van snelheid in zich hebben.

Vijf kunstenaars werden uitgenodigd een schets in te dienen: Matali Crasset (vormgever, FRA), Liam Gillick (kunstenaar, VK), Jonn Körmeling (kunstenaar, NL), Xavier Veilhan (kunstenaar, FRA) en Hewald Jongenelis/Sylvie Zijlmans (kunstenaarsduo, NL). De jury koos uiteindelijk het voorstel van John Körmeling, Keekwalk tot winnend ontwerp. De oorspronkelijk schets bestond uit een stalen zilverkleurige sculptuur dat in de aankomsthallen van de stations zou worden opgehangen. Deze sculptuur zou een omhoog kronkelend weggetje hebben dat leidde naar een huisje. Reizigers konden de weg omhoog lopen, en zich op deze manier even boven de stromen reizigers verheffen.

Tijdens het verloop van de uitwerking bleek er uiteindelijk toch te weinig ruimte te zijn in de verschillende stationshallen om deze eerste schets tot een definitief ontwerp te maken. In overleg met opdrachtgevers en kunstenaar is een tweede schetsopdracht verleend, resulterend in een hangend meeting point: een modulaire twaalfkantige vorm van aluminium, verlicht met wit LED-licht dat elektronisch wordt aangestuurd.

Sunny Cloud heeft dezelfde lichtheid en speelsheid als Körmelings eerste voorstel.

In de veelal functioneel en industrieel vormgegeven stationshallen ontwaart de reiziger een vreemd object; een wolk die als het ware in de ruimte zweeft en een zacht, wit, knipperend licht verspreidt. De reiziger kan hieronder plaatsnemen, baden in het licht en wachten alvorens te vertrekken of opgehaald te worden. Boven hem of haar hangt een schitterende ’sterrenwolk’ die het verpozen veraangenaamt.

In september 2011 zal een pilot-versie van het ontwerp worden opgehangen in Amsterdam CS. De definitieve meeting points worden geplaatst op het moment dat de NSP stations worden opgeleverd.

20

///

JOHN KÖRMELING

Sunny Cloud

MEETING POINT FOR NEW KEY PROJECT STATIONS At the end of the 19th century there was already a tradition of adorning buildings with ornamentation, paintings and sculpture; in that period one sees an increase in the scale and a more intensive use of the visual arts as connected with buildings.

Amsterdam’s Central Station, designed by P.J.H Cuypers, was among the first 19th century Dutch secular buildings to have a lot of decorative sculpture. This tradition continued on into the 20th century, as art was integrated into the architecture of various stations. The book Stationsarchitectuur in Nederland 1938-1998, by the NS Rail railway architect C. Douma, describes not only the architecture of the stations, but also which artists produced works for the different stations. Examples of such artworks include the graphic patterns by Peter Struycken in Breda, the decorations and bronze column by Babette Treuman and Peer Veneman for Almere, and the lighthouse object by Aldo Rossi in Leeuwarden.

The former chairman of the board of directors of Atelier HSL, Maarten van Eeghen, at that time Director General of Passenger Transport for the Ministry of Transportation and Commerce, came up with the idea of a limited design competition for meeting points in the proposed new HSL stations. There appeared to be a clear need for a highly visible and well defined spot where people could meet, such as the prominent meeting point/artwork by Dennis Adam at Schiphol.

In 2005 a limited international competition for design proposals for a new meeting point in a number of train stations was set up. A preference was expressed for a modular form that would allow the artwork to be adapted to the architecture of the different stations (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Breda, Utrecht, Den Haag and Arnhem), without losing sight of the original purpose of the meeting point. The artwork had to function as an autonomous artwork that would serve only as a meeting point, since the stations already had information counters and enough facilities for relaxation and shopping. It was important that the meeting point should be recognisable for travellers, both domestic and international, and have an appealing and attractive visual form that was visible at all times, while at the same time being a ‘safe’ place to wait, in the middle of the ebb and flow of traffic. Finally, the design also had to include a representation of speed.

Five artists were invited to submit a proposal: Matali Crasset (designer, France), Liam Gillick (artist, UK), John Körmeling (artist, Netherlands), Xavier Veilhan (artist, France) and Hewald Jongenelis/Sylvie Zijlmans (artists, Netherlands). The jury ultimately chose the proposal by John Körmeling, Keekwalk, as the winning design.

The original sketch called for a silver-coloured steel sculpture that would be hung in the arrival halls of the stations. This sculpture would have a meandering walkway which led up to a small house. Travellers could walk up the path, and in this way be seen above the streams of their passing fellow-passengers.

In the course of working out the idea, there proved to be too little space in the different station halls to turn this first sketch into a definitive design. In discussions with the client and the artist, a second commission was extended, resulting in a hanging meeting point: a modular dodecagon of aluminium, lighted with white LED light that was controlled electronically. Sunny Cloud has the same lightness and playful quality as Körmeling’s first proposal. In the often functional and industrially design station halls, the traveller notices this strange object; a cloud which floats in space, as it were, and gives off a soft, white, blinking light. The traveller can stand underneath it, bathing in the light, and wait prior to departure, or to be picked up. Over him (or her) hangs a glittering ‘galaxy’ which makes the wait more pleasant.

In September 2011, a pilot version of the design will be hung in Amsterdam Central Station. The definitive meeting points will be placed at the time that the New Key Project stations are delivered.

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Aluminium and LED light

John Körmeling (1951) John Körmeling werd opgeleid als architect maar is vooral werkzaam op het terrein van de beeldende kunst. In zijn werk stelt hij vastgeroeste ideeën over onze omgeving en architectuur op vaak humoristische wijze ter discussie, door er een alternatief voor te bedenken of er een woordspeling op los te laten. Zo maakte hij in 1993 een ‘kroonluchter’ voor de luchthaven Schiphol, bestaande uit neonletters die de woorden ‘hihi’ en ‘haha’ vormden en als een lachbui boven de hoofden van de reizigers hing. Körmeling heeft meer werken gerealiseerd met woorden van neonletters, waarin de tekst een bepaalde lading kreeg. Hij wordt veelvuldig gevraagd voor opdrachten in de publieke ruimte. Het eerste permanente gebouw dat hij realiseerde was een starttoren voor de watersportbaan in Groningen in 1999, en in Zandvoort werd in 1995 een circuit voor rolstoelgebruikers door hem ingericht. Veel aandacht kreeg Körmeling met zijn Drive Inn Wheel dat hij maakte voor de tentoonstelling Panorama 2000 in Utrecht. Dit reuzenrad was voor bezoekers enkel toegankelijk met een auto die, vastgezet met wielklemmen, de lucht in werd gebracht. Op deze wijze kon het publiek de stad en de tentoonstelling Panorama 2000 op een geheel nieuwe en onalledaagse wijze ervaren. In 2010 was Körmeling de architect van het Nederlands paviljoen Happy Street op de Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

John Körmeling was trained as an architect but works primarily in the field of the visual arts. His work challenges entrenched ideas about our environment and architecture, often in humorous ways, for instance by proposing an alternative for the situation, or by unleashing a play on words. For example, in 1993 he produced a ‘chandelier’ for Schiphol airport, consisting of neon letters that spelled out the words ‘hihi’ and ‘haha’, hanging above the heads of the travellers like fit of laughter. Körmeling has realised other works with words from neon letters. He is frequently asked to to perform commissions in public space. The first permanent building that he realised was a starter’s tower for the water sports course in Groningen in 1999, and he designed a track for wheelchair users in Zandvoort in 1995. Körmeling received lots of attention for the Drive Inn Wheel that he produced for the Panorama 2000 exhibition in Utrecht.

Visitors could only ride this giant Ferris wheel in their motorcars, which were secured with wheel clamps before being lifted high into the air. In their cars, visitors could experience the city and Panorama 2000 in an entirely new and unusual way. In 2010 Körmeling was the architect for the Dutch Happy Street pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

The NSP meeting points are financed by: NS, ProRail, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Foundation Atelier HSL

JOHN KÖRMELING

Sunny Cloud /// 21

GERT ROBIJNS (B)

High Speed in Slow Motion (2011) / / / ////////////////////// Sinds 2009 vertrekken er Thalys-treinen van Amsterdam Centraal via Breda naar Brussel. De internationale treinverbinding brengt de stadsharten van Amsterdam, Antwerpen, Parijs en London steeds dichter bij elkaar. Europa ligt aan je voeten, ook als de trein niet in je stad stopt maar deze slechts op hoge snelheid passeert, zoals in Breda het geval is.

Van oudsher wordt de Bredase buurt Prinsenbeek van de stad gescheiden door het spoor. Door de aanleg van de HSL-Zuid werd deze infrastructurele barrière vergroot.

Om deze immense verkeersader te slechten werd het oude park Prinsenbeek door Juurlink & Geluk, bureau voor landschapsarchitectuur, omgevormd tot het nieuwe stadspark Overbos. Hierin werden twee nieuwe bruggen over de HSL geïntegreerd.

Het in landschappelijke stijl aangelegde stadspark vormt een mooi contrast met de dynamiek van het in het talud verzonken, voorbijrazende auto- en treinverkeer, dat deels afwezig is en deels wordt opgevoerd als ultiem spektakel.

Zo ontstond een uniek stadspark waarin contrasten als stedelijkheid versus landelijkheid, rust versus snelheid, het kleine gebaar versus het monumentale en het traditionele versus het eigentijdse, op een organische wijze in elkaar grijpen.

Gert Robijns’ kunstwerk High Speed in Slow Motion, winnaar van de speciaal voor deze locatie uitgeschreven schetsopdracht, maakt de parkgebruiker bewust van de relatie tussen de natuur en de aangrenzende HSL infrastructuur, en de daarmee samenhangende aspecten als tijd, techniek, snelheid en mobiliteit.

De toeschouwer wordt geprikkeld om te kijken en stil te staan; stil te staan bij het gegeven tijd, bij ons ‘mobiele’ leven en bij het tempo waarin we leven.

Het project toont twee parallelle werelden: de high-speed realiteit van de HSL en de slow motion variant van een modeltrein, die gelijktijdig vertrekken en hun eindbestemming bereiken. De bezoeker van het park zal op een bepaald ogenblik beide treinen in het vizier krijgen: High Speed in Slow Motion.

Een rij om de beurt oplichtende LED lampen zal het traject Amsterdam - Breda ook visueel in beeld brengen, zodat de toeschouwer de HSL letterlijk kan zien naderen.

Speciale ventilatoren simuleren de luchtverplaatsing van de treinen en er klinken zacht omroepberichten behorende bij nationale en internationale treinen.

22

///

GERT ROBIJNS

High Speed in Slow Motion (2011)

As of 2009, Thalys trains depart from Amsterdam Central station, heading for Brussels via Breda. These international train connections bring the cities like Amsterdam, Antwerp, Paris and London closer together than ever; the whole of Europe will lie at your feet, even if the train only passes a city in high-speed, as is the case in Breda.

For as long as anyone in Breda can remember, railway tracks have separated the neighbourhood of Prinsenbeek from the city. The construction of the HSL-South line has only made this infrastructural barrier bigger. In order to neutralise the effects of this immense traffic artery, the old park of Prinsenbeek was transformed into a new city park, Overbos, by landscape architects Juurlink & Geluk. Two new bridges over the HSL tracks were integrated in the design. The city park, laid out in landscape style, forms a pleasant contrast with the dynamism of the cars and trains that flash by, recessed at the bottom of a bank, where the traffic is partly hidden and partly presented as the ultimate spectacle.

The design resulted in a unique city park in which contrasting elements such as urbanity and rusticity, serenity and speed, the small gesture versus the monumental and the traditional versus the contemporary, are bound up with one another in an organic manner.

Gert Robijns’s artwork High Speed in Slow Motion, the winning design of the competition organised especially for this location, makes the park’s users aware of the relationship of nature with the adjoining HSL infrastructure and other aspects connected to it, such as time, technology, speed and mobility. It stimulates the viewer to stop and look, to take a time out and reflect on the aspect of time, on our ‘mobile’ lives and on our fast paced lives. The project shows two parallel worlds: the high speed reality of the HSL and the slow motion variant of a model train that departs and reaches its destination simultaneously with the HSL train. At a certain moment the visitor will see both trains: High Speed in Slow Motion.

A string of LED lamps that light up successively will help visualise the route from Amsterdam to Breda, so that the visitor can literally see the HSL train approaching.

Special vents simulate the displacement of air created by trains, and public announcements of domestic and international trains are replayed softly.

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Installation

This is a co-production of the City of Breda and Foundation Atelier HSL

Gert Robijns (1972) Gert Robijns studeerde aan de Hogeschool Sint Lukas in Brussel en aan de Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht. Zijn werk kenmerkt zich door sculpturale installaties en surrealistische interventies waarin hij objecten, geluid en soms ook geur met elkaar combineert om de toeschouwer een extra ervaring van de werkelijkheid te bieden. Hij reageert vaak op schijnbaar alledaagse situaties, objecten en processen. Met Het Dorp uit 2011 bouwde Gert Robijns een kopie van het dorp waarin hij opgroeide, Gotem, en plaatste deze kopie op een steenworp van het dorp, tegen de achtergrond van een militair vliegveld.

Zijn werk bevindt zich in openbare collecties in Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst (Antwerpen), (MuHKA), S.M.A.K. (Ghent) en FRAC Bourgogne te Dijon. Tot 11 september 2011 is Robijns te zien met een solo tentoonstelling onder de titel ‘On-‘ in Museum M te Leuven.

Gert Robijns studied at the Hogeschool Sint Lukas in Brussels and the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. His work is characterised by sculptural installations and surrealistic interventions in which he combines objects, sound and sometimes odours in order to offer the spectator a heightened experience of reality. He often responds to seemingly everyday situations, objects and processes. In Het Dorp(The Village, 2011) Gert Robijns constructed a copy of the village he grew up, Gotem, and moved it to a site very close to Gotem, against the background of a military airfield.

Robijns’s work is to be found in public collections like the Museum for Contemporary Art (Antwerp), S.M.A.K. (Ghent) and the FRAC Bourgogne at Dijon. Until 11 September 2011, his work will be seen in a solo exhibition entitled ‘On-‘, in Museum M at Louvain.

GERT ROBIJNS

High Speed in Slow Motion (2011) /// 23

CASPER LE FÈVRE (NL)

∆v ///// / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////////////////////

Het overgrote deel van de HSL-lijn vormt een bundel met al bestaande infrastructuur, of gaat als tunnel onder de grond. Slechts op een betrekkelijk klein deel van de spoorlijn is er sprake van een enkelvoudige, alleen door de HSL veroorzaakte, doorsnijding van het landschap. Waar de afzonderlijke lijn overgaat in een bundel kunnen door samenvoeging ‘overhoeken’ ontstaan tussen het spoor en omliggende wegen.

Deze vaak puntvormige restplekken hebben, naast hun functie als gronddepot, de status van ‘inpassingzone’ gekregen. Ze dragen bij aan de landschappelijke inpassing van de hogesnelheidslijn en kunnen hierdoor een meerwaarde vormen voor de omgeving.

In 2003 schreef Atelier HSL een open ontwerpwedstrijd uit voor een aantal van deze ‘restplekken’ langs het tracé van de HSL-Zuid, onder de titel ‘A design for places left over after planning’. Landschapsarchitect Casper Le Fèvre won deze wedstrijd met zijn ontwerp voor een gronddepot in de Haarlemmermeer.

Het project van Le Fèvre ligt op de aftakking van de Schiphollijn en vormt een overhoek tussen de HSL, de N207 en de Schiphollijn. De in hoogte variërende spoortaluds sluiten het gronddepot visueel grotendeels af van de omgeving.

Vanuit de treinen, de hogesnelheidstrein alsmede het gewone spoor is er echter goed zicht op deze driehoekige restplek.

Het voorstel van de Le Fèvre was deze driehoek vol te plaatsen met bomen in enkele gerende bomenrijen, haaks op de HSL-lijn. Het raster zorgt voor twee effecten: een versnellend (of vertragend) effect door verdichting (vergroting) van de onderlinge afstand van de rijen bomen, en een zwalkend effect door een veranderende hoekverdraaiing van diezelfde lijnen. De jury vond dit voorstel boven alle andere uitsteken wat betreft eenvoud en intelligentie. Ook was de jury verheugd dat het ontwerp zichtbaar zal zijn voor vele generaties treinreizigers.

Met het monumentale project voor de HSL voegt Le Fèvre zich in de traditie van Land Art uit de jaren 60 en 70, waarbij kunstenaars verassende ingrepen deden in het landschap. Een van de meest bekende voorbeelden van dergelijke landschapskunst in Nederland is De Groene Kathedraal, naar ontwerp van Marinus Boezem: een monumentaal project met een oppervlakte van 11.250 m2.

In het eerste plan van Le Fèvre zouden er 723 populieren geplaatst moeten worden.

Atelier HSL heeft het plan dat alleen op papier bestond laten doorrekenen door de afdeling optische waarneming van TNO. De wetenschappers bevestigden het idee van de kunstenaar en maakten er zelfs een 3D simulatie van. Ook werd gecheckt op

24

///

CASPER LE FÈVRE

∆v

In 2003 Atelier HSL organised an open competition for a number of ‘leftover places’ along the route of the HSL-South. The competition was entitled ‘A Design for Places Left Over After Planning’. By far the largest part of the HSL line is combined with already existing infrastructure, or runs underground through a tunnel. Only for a relatively small part of its route does the track cut through the landscape by itself.

Were the separate line rejoins a corridor of other infrastructure, there is sometimes a ‘leftover corner’, or overhoek, created. These are often triangular parcels, less than ideal for agricultural use or commercial building plots. Sometimes these leftover spaces serve as spoils depots, where surplus earth from construction work for the HSL can be stored. These sites have been assigned the status of ‘transitional zones’ and are expected to contribute to the high-speed line fitting smoothly into the landscape. As a result, they can provide added value for the areas around them.

Le Fèvre’s project lies at the point where the Schiphol line branches off in the community of Haarlemmermeer, and forms an overhoek with the N207 and the HSL. The rising height of the track bed largely blocks out a view of the spoils depot.

However, there is a good view of the site from both the HSL trains as well as normal trains.

The landscape architect’s proposal was to plant rows of trees in this triangle, running at right angles to the HSL line. The grid produces two effects: an accelerating (or decelerating) effect resulting from the diminishing (or increasing) distance between the rows of trees, and a turning effect created by the changing angle at which the rows are seen. The jury concluded that this proposal stood out above all the others in its simplicity and intelligence. Furthermore, the jury was delighted that the design would be visible for many future generations of train travellers.

The project fits in the tradition of Land Art. In the 1960s artists began to perform radical interventions in the landscape; they wanted to make art outside the traditional world of museums and galleries. The most familiar example in The Netherlands is the work of Marinus Boezem: his Green Cathedral covers an area of 11,250 m2.

In the artist’s first plan there would have been 723 poplars planted. Atelier HSL had the optical perception department of the Organisation for Applied Scientific Research check the calculations in the plan, which existed only on paper. The researchers confirmed the artist’s idea, and even produced a 3D simulation of it.

They also checked whether the optical effects could cause a problem for epileptics, but the frequency of the changing pattern was so low that this could not occur.

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Casper Le Fèvre (1955) Casper Le Fèvre studeerde o.a. Tuin- en Landschapsarchitectuur aan de Landbouw Hogeschool Wageningen en Architectuur aan de Academie van Bouwkunst in Amsterdam. Hij werkte onder meer voor West 8, bureau voor Urban Design & Landscape Architecture en bij Van Berkel en Bos voor onder meer Villa Möbius. Sinds 2000 werkt hij als zelfstandig architect.

Casper Le Fèvre studied Garden and Landscape Architecture at the Landbouw Hogeschool Wageningen, Environmental Design at the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Arnhem and at the Architecture Academy, Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. He has worked for West 8, Urban Design & Landscape Office for Architecture and Van Berkel and Bos, including the Möbius House. Since 2000 he has worked as an independent architect.

eventuele epileptische effecten, maar de frequentie van het veranderende patroon was zo laag dat die niet zouden kunnen optreden. Op verzoek van de Gemeente Haarlemmermeer, partner in dit project, werden er geen populieren geplaatst maar amberbomen. Deze groeien langzaam, krijgen een stevigere kruin (waardoor zij minder gevoelig zijn voor stormschade), leven veel langer en hebben prachtige herfstkleuren. In 2009 werden -gebruik makend van de meest recente GPStechnieken- 600 amberbomen geplant op het acht hectare tellende gronddepot.

Het idee van door deze gerende bomenrijen ontstane visuele effecten is overigens geschikt om ook bij andere locaties langs het spoor in andere variaties uitgevoerd te worden.

At the request of the community of Haarlemmermeer, the partner in this project, sweet gums (Liquidambar styraciflua) were substituted for the poplars. They grow slowly (and therefore have a more robust crown that is less susceptible to storm damage), live much longer and show magnificent autumn colours. With the aid of GPS technology, in 2009 600 trees were planted on this 80,000 m2 (eight hectares) plot. The idea of creating visual effects with running rows of trees is also suitable for use in other variations at other locations along the route.

This project is made possible by: Foundation Atelier HSL, Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment and the municipality of Haarlemmermeer It is maintained by: the Forestry Commission

CASPER LE FÈVRE

∆v /// 25

THE CHOICE OF A LANDSCAPE

Alain Bergala / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ////////////////////// Everyone has, at some time, had this experience on a train journey. For some unknown reason, the train slows down and stops in open country, miles from the nearest station.

We now find ourselves in front of an ordinary piece of landscape that has suddenly become the centre of attention by the simple fact of being randomly framed by the carriage window.

No one before us has ever had the time or opportunity to pay attention to these ballast stones, this embankment, this grass, all these things that are normally condemned by the speed of the train to be just fleeting shapes, rushing by, pure impressions with no stable material reality.

The untimely halting of the train has transformed these simple, nondescript things, with no particular qualities, these things that no one had ever bothered to look at. Now they attract our whole attention, in a way that is unique to each of us, because the windows in the same train don’t frame exactly the same view, the same ballast stones, the same wild grass.

The tangible experience of the landscape for the train passenger is that of a sideways tracking shot. The forward tracking shot is the privilege of the locomotive driver, even if the cinema has always made frequent use of it. It sometimes happens in some small trains that, in the last wagon that gives access straight onto the railway track, the passengers have access to a backward tracking shot, but that is nowadays a very rare experience.Though the word might be the same, we should not be misled: the perception of the world and the place of the beholder in reference to the world is not at all the same in these three types of tracking shots.

The forward tracking shot is experienced as a spatial penetration, the sideways tracking shot as a sliding on the world and the backward tracking shot as separation, a form of parting, always with a sense of distance.

The sideways tracking shot is neither penetration nor confrontation nor exclusion of the outside world. It gives us the feeling of sliding through space in front of the landscape.

One enters a gentle relationship with the world, one more contemplative than active, easily giving way to reverie. In a train, beside the window screen where the landscape unfolds, reality is very quickly coloured by imagination and blurred by the vagrancies of the mind. The movement of the train could be that of a boat gliding on the water.

We are ‘chosen’ by this mechanical hazard, which made the train stop at that particular stop. No one, not even the train driver, had intended to put us face to face with the vision of those things and, in a way, confront their very existence. It is for us and for us alone that the train, by stopping in an unpredictable way, has focused In the early days of the cinema, contrary to human childon this piece of earth and the ordinary singularities of which hood, the ‘on board’ tracking shot preceded the panning shot. it is composed. All the passengers of trains, who will stop in It is well known that cinema was born from static shots.

Schiphol station besides Yves Bélorgey’s panorama, will live It is for us and for us The Lumière brothers would fix the camera on its tripod and the experience of a tracking shot that stops on a fixed image. alone that the train, turn the crank handle. They had no viewfinder to see the But it will have an extra dimension: that which will be image that was being registered on the roll of film. It would centred in the window of their compartment will not be raw by stopping in an thus have been difficult, even impossible, for them to control reality but will be the painted representation of a real landa panning shot. The idea of making the camera pivot on its scape in front of which no train will ever pass. And this unpredictable way, axis, leading to the panning shot, came quite late in early landscape, almost a trompe-l’oeil painting, will immerse cinema. This was due to technical reasons (the camera was them in a visual universe totally disconnected from the urban has focused on this piece fixed to its tripod with no head to pivot) but above all to environment of the railway station. A kind of false visual conceptual reasons; for a long time, it was unthinkable to readjustment, of picnolepsy: finding oneself suddenly in the of earth and the ordinary change space while filming by sweeping the landscape. On the countryside whilst in the heart of a big railway station. singularities of which other hand, from very early on the Lumière brothers had the A railway trip and a waking dream have always lived idea of putting their camera on a moving body (a vaporetto happily together. it is composed in Venice, a train...). Since then, trains have never stopped I have always thought that there is a kind of infantile origin fascinating cinema operators and filmmakers. The railway in the emotion born from camera movements. Our perception tracks all over the world are a gigantic and natural tracking of the panning shot and of the tracking shot finds its origin in our infancy, and an adult watching a movie, unconsciously regresses to that primitive stage shot network, which can be used anywhere and at any time without any laborious instalof the emotions of vision, which impregnates his inner experience of cinema. For a baby, the lation. In a way, it offers millions of kilometres of « ready-made » tracking shots. In 1949, ‘panning shot’ precedes the ‘tracking shot’. He is born with a very weak motor indepen- Jean Mitry directed the film Pacific 231 as a tribute to the locomotive of the same name dence. He doesn’t have the bodily ability to move in an autonomous way but he can very and from music composed by Arthur Honegger in 1923. Mitry, who was essentially a early make his head pivot on its axis, taking evident pleasure in moving it from left to right theoretician, used this film to show theory at work through the rhythmic relationships that and from right to left, enjoying the discovery of a panoramic vision, and scanning with his exist between film montage and the train as a machine for crossing landscapes. own eyes his small field of vision. This early childhood panoramic vision is therefore a fragment of world discovery. It corresponds to a double impulse of curiosity and control, even if There is an ontological affinity between the cinema and the train that is linked to the this discovery is limited to the pivoting of the head. Pier Paolo Pasolini had a clear vision place and the experience of the spectator-traveller. In a train, the passenger is facing the of the origin of panning shots as an unveiled wonder of the world’s mythical sacrality in world’s spectacle through the window screen as if he were in front of a cinema screen. early childhood. He speaks with emotion about the shooting of his first film Accatone when Slightly hypnotic and euphoric sensations come to him effortlessly, bringing even more he discovered with innocence the movements of the camera and the sacralising function of passive enjoyment in that they don’t depend on his own will. The two travellers are motithe panning shot: “There is nothing more technically sacred than a slow panning shot, onless and watch without any apparent physical effort, the vision of a world in movement favourable to dream and imagination. They rediscover the existential sensation of primitive especially when this movement is discovered by an amateur and used for the first time.” childhood tracking shots: not being really the actor of a movement that moves them, For the small child condemned by his bodily immaturity to panoramic vision, tracking surrounds them, but in which everything escapes their control: speed, stops and trajectory. shots proceed from a desire which surpasses his bodily capacities and which will satisfy his urge for conquest: to anticipate on his future motor autonomy, the ability to move into Christophe Girardet and Matthias Muller’s triptych Locomotive, unlike the voluntarist space. To do this, he must have a parent who will allow him to travel through space. The aspect of Jean Mitry’s film, delicately examines the affinities between train and cinema. child shouts and is agitated in his cradle: will someone come, take him in his arms, answer Visual affinities: the train deals with the luminous beating of the cinema, with the rhythmic his request? The baby’s access to movement depends on the goodwill of an adult who will repetition of the roll of film in the projector, with the stroboscopic hypnosis aroused by the decide the speed, rhythm, stops and itinerary. But this wrenching away from his forced im- fly-past of landscape or images. The railway tracks and the sleepers resemble in an obvious mobility is a joyous release.Later on will come the time of baby carriages serving as machi- way a roll of film with its interimages. In this triple-screen film editing of extracts of railnes for forward movement into the world. Stanley Kubrick has definitively inscribed the way sequences, the two video artists evoke the blending of torpor and restlessness, of reverie jubilation in the feeling of power and of spatial penetration in his unforgettable forward and reflection that the train journey creates in people who are always mirror images of spectators in a cinema. tracking shots at a child’s height in the corridors of Shining.

26

///

THE CHOICE OF A LANDSCAPE Alain

Bergala

//////// / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ////////////////////// Without heaviness they testify to the train as a machine creating fiction: waiting for a train, looking for someone, trying to catch a train, running after someone or trying to escape, to fall asleep, to dream.

But if one gets closer to the painting and goes along it from left to right, to the point that it saturates our visual field by immerging us in the landscape, our perception becomes radically different. The panoramic gaze of possession and control, the satisfaction of geometry and perspective, give way to more passive and contemplative pleasures, which are those of the childhood tracking shot and of the cinemagoer. This is what will happen to every passenger when his train stops in front of the painting. The lateral movement along the painting will be like a progressive slow-motion picture that will stop on a freeze frame.

Each passenger, depending on his wagon and window, will have his very ‘own’ fixed image of this painted landscape: for one passenger, it will be a slender tree in front of a sports ground, for another it will be two of those circular houses with red frontages, for yet another it will be the adorned bridge and its image reflected in the river. The pleasure of this softened tracking to the left is not to dominate the visual rhythms in a global vision but, on the contrary, to let oneself, be passively invaded by the unpredictable rhythm, so rich in this work, of horizontals and verticals, and by the unexpected appearance of trees, grass, houses, bridges and colour modulations. Pure cinematic pleasure.

The title of a book of interviews of Luis Bunuel clearly states this interface between the unfolding landscape outside and the immersing in oneself provoked by the train journey.

“It is Forbidden to Lean Inside”. His last film That obscure object of desire, is precisely an account of flashbacks aroused by a train journey. The greatest filmmakers - for example, Hitchcock and Ozu - have treated this ontological affinity between train and cinema poetically.

The word ‘panorama’, which designates a work of seven oil paintings of 3x3 meters juxtaposed to give the illusion of a continuous 21 meter long canvas is reminiscent of a pictural tradition in which Holland holds an historical place. The Mesdag panorama painted

by Hendrik Willem Mesdag in 1880-81 can still be seen in The Hague. It is the oldest panorama remaining in its original state. This painting in trompe-l’oeil represents the In a train, the passenger town and the harbour of The Hague and its long sandy beach.

It is made up of a cylinder, 120 meters in circumference, is facing the world’s in the centre of which visitors can endlessly experience a panoramic view of this landscape at 360 degrees. This spectaspectacle through cular device is built on the panoptic model where the onlooker is placed in the centre and makes his head pivot to embrace the window screen as if the whole space. Yves Bélorgey’s canvas is called Twiske West Panorama, but is it really only a panorama? Nothing can be he were in front of a less sure. It was not conceived for a 360° vision as it is placed cinema screen. on a railway platform in a linear way, parallel to the railway tracks, a device, a-priori, made for a tracking shot vision. So, Slightly hypnotic and panning shot or tracking shot? What kind of cinematographic gaze does this painting summon up? Probably, and simul­ euphoric sensations taneously, both. There are indeed two ways of defining this work and the landscape it represents: a ‘panoramic’ way and come to him effortlessly, a ‘tracking’ way. If one looks at it from a distance, if we bringing even more consider it in its totality, this painting is a perfect cinema panoramic. I could almost say an ‘exaggerated panoramic’, passive enjoyment in that meaning ‘exaggerated’ in the sense of some strongly marked perspectives. The proper meaning of the classical cinematothey don’t depend graphic panning shot is to pass from a fixed shot (the starting one) to another fixed shot (the final one), both often being on his own will thought of as relatively autonomous, like frames having their own formal balance.

This is very clearly the case in this ‘frieze’ where we can easily isolate two perfectly well balanced pictures which could be framed autonomously from both the left side and from the right side. Left side: an image classically centred on the small bridge in the middle, the vanishing point drawn in the middle by the course of the river, the circular houses on the right side of the bridge which perfectly balance the sports ground fence. Similarities and differences at the heart of the symmetry of the central axis. Right side: an image also perfectly composed and centred by the vanishing line of the road and the river, with the parallel distribution of trees along both sides of the bridge.These two ‘fixed images’ evoke the lower band of the painting of Vermeer’s View of Delft with its water and the breaches of the doors of the town, rather than the Mesdag panoramic.

Yves Bélorgey’s painting proposes in tracking shot vision a great variety of rhythms due to visual perception. This classic left-right tracking gently follows a horizontal line, flexible and slightly undulating, never monotonous or rigid. It procures a first visual pleasure, particularly sensitive at the time of its final take-off point on the bridge to the right. During this horizontal run, our eye never stops meeting verticals of varied thicknesses and matters, always different in shape or form: the fence of the sports ground, the block of flats behind the first bridge, the white square-patterned frontage of round and red houses, the lace of bare trees, the thin parallel graphics of the bridge on the right and the two furrows on the path. The rhythm created when the horizontal run meets these verticals gives rise to a very pure visual music using repetition (reflection of the landscape in the water, round houses) and difference (the two bridges; the cubic building and the red round houses; the red round houses and the black round houses behind the trees). Colour is not the least of the visual pleasures offered by this frieze to the tracking perspective. There too is the pleasure of the subtle and gentle variations of an extremely refined palette: passing through all the nuances of ochre (houses and vegetation) to those of grey-green water. There is no representation of a human being to hinder the pleasure of letting ourselves be carried away in a passive movement, because the presence of a figure would focus our attention on an anecdote and would therefore destroy the fluid reverie of this floating tracking shot.

This work, then, lends itself with equal pleasure to two experiences of vision known to be slightly incompatible: the panning shot vision and the tracking shot vision, vision from a distance and vision in immersion, a stable and geometric vision and a dynamic vision, a position of control and of surrender. It exerts on us the fascination of an amphibologic representation. Under its apparent simplicity it reveals a great and very subtle art evoking the place and experience of the onlooker, invited here as train traveller, cinemagoer and as the small child who, in everyone of us, lays the origin of the emotions created by the movements of vision.

Considered as a whole, from a distance which allows it to be perceived all at once, this panorama presents itself as a bifocal perspective image. The two vanishing lines in the two frames could be those of the beginning and end of a flawless panning shot. Between the two of them, the central part, which corresponds to the sweeping of the panoramic, stops obeying the logic of stable and balanced framing. It shows a space of a different nature, with no vanishing line, a convex, rounded, slightly anamorphic world, that breaks with the classical and geometrical representation of the two panoramic extremities.

THE CHOICE OF A LANDSCAPE Alain

Bergala /// 27

RAILWAYS & MUSIC

David Toop / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ////////////////////// W. G. Sebald wrote in Austerlitz of hearing a radio programme about Fred Astaire: ‘Astaire’s father, who according to this surprising radio programme came from Vienna, had worked as a master brewer in Omaha, Nebraska, where Astaire was born, and from the veranda of the Austerlitz house you could hear freight trains being shunted back and forth in the city’s marshalling yard. Astaire is reported to have said later that this constant, uninterrupted shunting sound, and the ideas it suggested of going on a long railway journey, were his only childhood memories.’

Why is it that trains, memories and music are so closely entwined? Railway imagery is embedded deep in 20th century listening, an audible geography of the soul. Perhaps it begins with drawing a line across a blank sheet of paper. Indelible lines are laid across the earth in parallel strips, like staves running over a fresh page, or strings stretched over a sounding board. ‘My baby gone down the line,’ sang John Lee Hooker in ‘Union Station Blues’, and we feel not just his pain of farewell but the strange topography of the railway, the vanishing point of two narrow lines converging to a point on the horizon, then vanishing into a world that is both separation and potential. In historical imagination, the train is monstrous, a fire-breathing, smoking beast pushing deep into wilderness. In the stark poetry of ‘Smokestack Lightnin’, recorded in Chicago in 1956, blues singer Howlin’ Wolf painted vivid images of this demonic creature, indifferent to the loss of his lover. ‘Why don’t you hear me crying’?’ he moaned. ‘Whoo-oo, whoo-oo-oo, whoo.’ Printed on the outbound ticket there is adventure, parting and loss; on the return is reunion, though maybe, as in ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ by Gladys Knight and the Pips, that reunion with the past is a mark of failure. ‘Click clack’, as Captain Beefheart once sang, “Two trains, two railroad tracks, one going and the other coming back.” Perhaps in the tap-dancing rattle of Fred Astaire shoes we hear an echo of this rhythmical iron wheel clatter, a familiar clickety-clack that made possible the dream of an industrial world through which nature was overrun with steel.

Track are paths, and so in the days of vinyl a piece of recorded music was called a track in recognition of this passage of a stylus through the winding spiral of a record groove. Trapped at the end of a vinyl record, the needle would pass over the same run-out groove over and over – clickety-click, clickety-click – like a small train trapped in a loop. Like music, trains pass through time, push time forward, live by time. Trains are late or they are right on time, but without time there is disaster. As a boy growing up in England in the 1950s, I heard train songs frequently. They seemed central to the radio soundtrack of that period. ‘Puffin’ Billy’ by The Melodi Light Orchestra was typical of post-war instrumental music – an intricate little tone poem that spoke through the jollity of its melodies, the busy percussion and soaring strings of its arrangement. This was the theme of a popular BBC radio programme called ‘Children’s Favourites’, in which train songs like ‘The Runaway Train’ by Vernon Dalhart and Johnny Duncan’s ‘Last Train To San Fernando’ used trains as a metaphor for freedom. Because trains are trapped within their rails, loss of control is all the more powerful. Reginald Gardiner’s 1937 comedy monologue – ‘Trains (part 1 & 2)’ was another one of these ‘Children’s Favourites’. In his antiquated English accent, Gardiner portrayed trains as bad tempered beasts with a loathing for humanity: ‘Well, now we’ve unleashed this livid beast, we find it’s equally furious and it has this colossal argument with the rails it’s running on, like this: Diddley dee, diddley dah . . . diddley dee . . . diddley dah.’ Less light hearted to my ears was Alma Cogan’s ‘In the Middle of the House’, the tale of a house through which trains passed on a regular basis. The song lyrics may have been an innocent joke – ‘The railroad comes through the middle of the house, and the trains are all on time, and here comes the 5.09’ – but to my childish, overactive imagination, the imagery was profoundly threatening. When I was eight years old, railway metaphors were invigorated by another BBC programme of the 1950s, an innovative live rock and roll television show called ‘Six-Five Special’. Most of the music was an inferior British copy of American rock and roll, pop, jazz and folk but through these pallid imitations came thrilling intimations of a society breaking out of post-war mourning and austerity. The opening titles, a steam train journey, now look and sound very dated, but in their repetition, the opening lines by Don Lang and the Frantic Five - ‘Over the points, over the points’ - were a reminder that rock and roll was rooted in a hypnotic beat that had much in common with the familiar sound of a train passing over jointed rails. This urgency was the nascent phase of what we now call trending. You were either in or out; when the new trend came along you had to be ready at the station to catch it. Like other songs featured in the programme - ‘Cumberland Gap’, ‘This Train’, ‘Midnight Special’ and ‘Rock Island Line’ by Lonnie Donegan and

28

///

RAILWAY & MUSIC David

Toop

‘Freight Train’ by Nancy Whisky - the Six-Five Special theme imitated American traditions of folk, country, blues, jazz, spirituals and gospel and the experience of the Great Depression of the 1930s, during which many Americans rode the rails as hobos, catching free rides on freight trains either in search of work or simply to travel as a way of life. Describing his 1943 opera, U.S. Highball - A Musical Account of a Transcontinental Hobo Trip, composer Harry Partch drew upon his own life as a hobo, travelling the freights, hitching rides, working as dishwasher and flunky. At the centre of the opera is the protagonist, a hobo who intones fragments of conversation heard during journeys, writings seen on the side of boxcars, hitchhikers’ inscriptions and the names of stations. “The protagonist celebrates leaving a place, not arriving,” wrote Partch, “and almost any hobo would know why. A new town is an unknown; when the train stops, much can happen, including his arrest. But there is immediate exhilaration upon leaving a town - one more hurdle has been passed safely.”

In his book Country Music, U.S.A. (1968), Bill C. Malone analysed those songs that chronicled the transformation of the American south through industrialisation. The first moment of this dramatic change came with the railroad, penetrating the isolation of the South, sparking a new category of song, still familiar today through folk standards like ‘Waiting For a Train’, ‘Casey Jones’ and ‘Wabash Cannon Ball’. ‘No one can document the number of farm boys who have lain awake in quiet and darkened farmhouses,’ wrote Malone, ‘listening to the lonesome wail of a distant freight train or have seen it belching smoke as it thundered down the mountain side and longed for the exciting world that the iron monster seemed to symbolise.’What this reveals is not just a dream of escape but a close identification with the sound of the railway. ‘Hobo, hobo, you know you can’t ride this train,’ sang Louis Armstrong, and buried within the rhythms of early New Orleans jazz we hear the sounds of trains criss-crossing a country that had been opened up by both poverty and wealth. We are back with Fred Astaire again, hearing distant sounds fusing with deep longing – a powerful emotional trigger. We are also in the final moments of Pet Sounds,

by The Beach Boys – not a song but simply a recording of a train whistling as it passes through the town, leaving dogs to bark at its wailing wake. ‘Ah I heard my baby cryin’ and I heard the 44 whistle when she blows,’ sang Mississippi blues singer Lee Green. ‘And I feel mistreated, and your sweet mama is bound to go.’ Everything is condensed within these two lines: loss evoked by a distant sound; the melancholy similarity of weeping and the train whistle.

This mood of loneliness, nostalgia and regret has become synonymous with country music in its classic period: Hank Williams, plaintive and doomed, singing ‘I hear that lonesome whistle blow’; Jimmy Rodgers failing to persuade a brakeman to let him ride the train, too broke to pay the fare; Johnny Cash languishing in ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, hearing freedom in a train whistle - ‘If that railroad train was mine, I bet I’d move it on a little farther down the line. Far from Folsom prison, that’s where I want to stay, And I’d let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away.’

Musicians hear a train and they want to imitate its sound, partly to capture the rhythmic excitement of a train at full speed but also to dive into strong memories. Train sounds have traditionally been a vehicle for virtuosity. Listen to harmonica player Sonny Terry’s ‘Train Whistle Blues’ – not only for the wild clickety-clack of its rhythm but the strange wheezing howls he draws out of his instrument. In country music the sliding tones and effects of the amplified pedal steel guitar expanded possibilities for imitation. Tracks such as ‘Orange Blossom Special’ by Buddy Emmons and ‘Railroadin’’ by Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant are full of steel player tricks that replicate the steam whistle cries and pulsing movement of locomotives.Though we tend to associate these audio portraits with Americana, one of the first composers to write a programmatic piece depicting a steam engine was Swiss. Arthur Honneger was a great railways enthusiast, and though he denied that Pacific 231, written as a gradually climactic single movement for orchestra in 1923, was specifically designed as a straightforward programme piece, this is how history has fixed it. What fascinated Honneger was momentum, what he described as ‘the quiet respiration of an engine in repose; the effort in starting; the progressive increase in speed passing from the static to the dynamic state of an engine of 300 tons driven in the night at a speed of 120 miles per hour.’

The orchestra allowed him (along with Brazilian composer Heitor Villa Lobos in 1931, with The Little Train of the Caipira) to capture a broad range of sounds associated with steam trains. This momentum and power has inspired many musicians in different fields - The Velvet Underground with ‘Train Round the Bend’, Trouble Funk with ‘Trouble

//////// / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ////////////////////// Funk Express’, Cream with ‘Traintime’, David Bowie with ‘Station To Station’, Goldfrapp but also an inherited burden of horrors. To distance themselves from previous generations, and The Buddy Miles Express, both with very different songs called ‘Train’ and the Jimmy young German musicians developed new musical forms. For Trans-Europe Express, Giuffre 3’s 1957 hit, ‘The Train and the River’.

Kraftwerk rejected Honneger’s climactic narratives and the contained circularity of classic ‘The mystique of the train makes for a kind of industrial (as opposed to natural) sublime,’ pop songs for a potentially endless forward motion driven by electronic energy. Europe was Peter Doyle wrote in his book, Echo & Reverb (2005), ‘in which aesthetic pleasure is changing and with change came emergent identities, increasing communication, a more inextricably mixed with or generated by feelings of awe, powerlessness or even terror.’ Given dynamic interconnected world but also new frontiers, new tensions. Similar themes, though the rich imagery and associations of railways, is it possible to hear the sounds of a train as with a Jewish-American perspective, lay at the heart of Steve Reich’s Different Trains, just sounds? In 1949, French radio engineer Pierre Schaeffer made a landmark piece called composed in 1988. Études Aux Chemins de Fer. A collage constructed with audio recordings of train sounds, Reich’s piece for string quartet and tape began with his romantic memories of trips by train it was the first significant example of musique concrete and the precursor of today’s ambient, between New York and Los Angeles between 1939 and 1942, the result of his parents soundscape works. Schaeffer wanted to detach sounds from mythology, metaphor and separating when he was a child. For Reich there was the grim realisation that train journeys utilitarian associations in order to ask the question: what are we hearing? His answer, and in Europe during the same period would have taken him to the Nazi death camps. the term he gave to such sounds, was the sonorous object. By hearing edited, transformed Always two tracks, one to paradise or purgatory, the other returning to reconciliation, recordings of trains as a succession of magnificent sounds we begin to hear the world a reckoning or home. ‘Station to station,’ sang Kraftwerk, each station a hub within the differently. ‘If [the tape recorder] creates new phenomena to observe,’ he wrote, ‘it creates network of modernity. Paul Simon wrote ‘Homeward Bound’ while waiting for the milk above all new conditions of observation.’ train on the platform of Widness station, Cheshire, during a 1965 tour of English folk Far away in Memphis, in Sun Studios run by Sam Phillips, clubs. Lovesick, homesick, he imagined the train as salvation: the tape recorder was creating very different conditions ‘Homeward bound, I wish I was ... But what of the stations of perception. Just listen to the difference between the Little themselves and the communities they serve? Compared with Musicians hear a train Junior’s Blue Flames recording of ‘Mystery Train’, written by the ‘romance of steam’ (in reality dirty, noisy and uncomforPhillips and Junior Parker in 1953, and then Elvis Presley’s table), high speed trains – Eurostar, Shinkansen or TGV – and they want to imitate version, released on Sun two years later. Whereas Parker’s offer insulated, fast, comfortable journeys. Such changes in original shuffles gently, sways along the rails with its eerie the conditions of life are often registered at a subliminal level. its sound, partly to message, Presley’s version is urgent and ghostly, his voice In the late 1960s, the Canadian composer and educator capture the rhythmic deeper in the echoing mix as if a messenger from the same R. Murray Schafer recognised that listening is overshadowed supernatural region as this clicking, bumping spectral train. by the act of looking. For Schafer, sound is a vital component excitement of a train ‘Well that long black train, got my baby and gone,’ sings in the way we orientate ourselves in the world. Listening is Presley and we wonder, is this train death or redemption? a central yet unrecognised way of constructing a sense of at full speed but also The slap bass, vocal echo and driving rhythms of Presley’s identity through memory, social networks and the atmosphere early recordings launched a phase of music in which the spirit of place. Sound has a profound impact on physical and to dive into of the locomotive gained new life despite having been usurped psychological well-being and so Schafer coined the term by electricity as the wonder of the age. Listen, for example, to soundscape in order to define this immersive environment of strong memories.

‘The Train Kept a Rollin’’ by the Johnny Burnette Trio, a sounding and hearing. Distinctive sounds within a soundTrain sounds have driving rockabilly version of an R&B original. Suddenly, the scape were called soundmarks by Schafer, and so we can new technology of studio techniques and amplified music imagine these two worlds intersecting - the particularity of traditionally been matches the powerful sound of the railway. Listen also to places, communities and industries and then cutting lines Public Enemy’s ‘Nighttrain’, in which Chuck D’s lyrics treat through each soundscape is the familiar sound of the railway. a vehicle for virtuosity the train as a complex metaphor of black identity in a society For the London based sound artist Scanner, the drama of rail that stereotypes people by skin colour: ‘Cause he ridin’ the inspired him in 1994 to produce ‘Runaway Train’, an audio train you think he down for the cause, ‘cause his face looks piece based on radio communication between a railwayman just like yours.’ Sampling from earlier train songs like James Brown’s ‘Night Train’, Public and his rail traffic controller as a fifty-car freight train ran out of control in northern Enemy were drawing on deep history – a musical legacy running from Duke Ellington to Canada.

James Brown, the sonic experimentation of 20th century noise and an African-American Such dramatic narratives are far less common in the age of high speed rail. For Scanner, poetic tradition in which the train exemplifies an end to sorrow. ‘Carry me home,’ sings rail travel now allows time for thought and contemplation, a chance to stare out of a James Brown at the end of his ‘Night Train’ – a journey not just through America’s cities moving window, but at the same time its greater detachment erases geography. ‘Somebody but from slavery to emancipation. said years ago that the train system made the world smaller, just like the internet,’ he says, ‘but something is lost.’ Voyager, his collage of local accents, geographical features, soundHuman beings are frail by comparison with the train’s unstoppable force yet they can join marks, ambient sounds, customs and celebrations functions as an auditory map of specific its enclosed community of strangers and so move together toward a destiny, spiritual places, a new kind of geography mapped by sound alone. We travel, hearing station or political. This may have been the idea of John Cage’s event from 1978 – Il Treno: announcements - Breda, Den Bosch, Aalsmeer, Haarlem, Rotterdam - as if they earth the In Search of the Lost Silence – in which local musicians played aboard a train that set more detached sonic impressions and atmosphere of the 21st century railway. Travel is both out from Bologna station. It also lay at the heart of many gospel songs. “If you can’t ride it, physical movement and movement within the imagination, both inside the train, on the shame on you,” says Sister Rosetta Tharpe at the beginning of ‘The Gospel Train’. The move, but also outside in the slower pace of all the places that flash by. Like Fred Astaire, feeling of hope typical of gospel standards like ‘This Train’ also carried broader expectations we are awake in the physicality of heavy engineering and its power, yet caught up in dreams of freedom and equality. Soul records contemporary with the black civil rights struggle of places we may never visit, lives we may never lead, people we may come to be. in America – ‘People Get Ready’ by The Impressions or ‘Freedom Train’ by James Carr – consciously intertwined these strands through beautiful lines like Curtis Mayfield’s ‘All you need is faith to keep the diesels humming’, transformed some years later into a positive globalised message for the disillusioned, economically tough 1970s by The O’Jays with ‘Love Train’. Europe was haunted by its own violent oppositions. For the Kraftwerk generation in post-war Germany there was excitement in the air – new possibilities and technologies –

RAILWAY & MUSIC David

Toop /// 29

WILD ANIMALS

Saskia de Coster / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /////////////////////// Not life-threatening Ever since it happened, she keeps quiet whenever a conversation starts heading towards cheetahs. It’s incredible how fond people are of talking about cheetahs or predators in general. She often stays silent. In the first moments after the incident she was completely distraught. She thought there was an earthquake, but it was she who was shaking. Five years later it still makes her feel queasy.

You might well have read about it at the time in the trivia column of some newspaper, the one with a title such as ‘Bizarre & Famous’ or ‘Unvarnished’ or ‘Snippets’. Even the quality newspaper De Standaard wrote about the incident: On Sunday evening a nineteen-year-old woman escaped death in the Antwerp zoo. Just before closing time, at a quarter to five, she forced her way into the cage of a cheetah. A security guard at the zoo noticed a suspicious movement on the surveillance camera and rushed to the scene. He arrived just in time to shoot the cheetah. The woman was bitten in three places but her injuries are not life threatening. That was when she noticed that, when you do something wrong, the newspapers talk of a nineteen-year-old woman. As a victim, you are still a nineteen-year-old girl to them. Now, aged twenty-four, she finally feels that she’s becoming a woman because she has her issues under control.

play ever louder. She notices that the train has started moving when the benches on the platform begin sliding away. Sitting among the motley collection of passengers has a comfortable familiarity to her, even though she doesn’t know one of them by name or even by sight. But there is also much more she doesn’t see that travels with her nonetheless: Several families of bacteria and viruses A stubborn sticker on the sole of a shoe A thirty years old argument that still pursues its makers A future

A suicide attempt?

He’s standing there again, at the furthest tip of the platform. If he took one more step he’d fall onto the tracks. The man with the wild black curls is pacing up and down. She had also seen him before in Amsterdam and last week he nearly knocked her over in the station at The Hague. The train rides past him and starts braking.

In the window’s reflection she sees that the modern grandma keeps casting furtive glances at her wrist. Precisely now, when she’d rather not be reminded of Georges. She unscrews the top of her bottled water and takes a swig. And another swig, and another. That always helps when she has to calm herself down. She hardly ever wants to think about Georges anymore, only on the occasional night when she can’t sleep and just needs to have a good cry. Resolutely but composed, she rummages in her handbag and pulls out a felt-tip pen.

On her wrist, next to the scar, she writes in fairly angry block notices that letters: TASTY MEAT

Mango sorbet After the death of her beloved cheetah Georges, through her clumsy manoeuvres in the cage, she concentrated on her studies and her career. That was a wise decision. A career She helps you to progress in life, more than a cheetah. She is always on her way for her job. Whether you’re a cashier, a DJ the train has started or a civil servant, most working people travel large distances The scar is the size of a walnut and just as wrinkled. Georges moving when to reach the place in which their work awaits them. A pilot had very irregular teeth. As soon as the train starts slowing for sometimes even takes the plane to work. She prefers the train the Antwerp stop, the energetic, vegetarian grandmother the benches on for going to her clients. As a consultant with a large bank she jumps to her feet and walks out of the carriage. A few provides her best clients with personal investment advice, minutes later the train unloads its human cargo onto the the platform begin entirely free of obligation. She reassures her clients, without platform and the woman is the first to disappear into the being pushy. Half her work consists of listening attentively depth of the hallway. sliding away. and giving encouraging nods. She has often noticed that She continues replying to her e-mails, including the very last Sitting among the motley clients value this personal approach enormously. This week one - a scathing reprimand from a client who concludes that she has three meetings in Paris with consultants from other she might at least give him an explanation, over dinner. collection of passengers large banks. They are meeting to agree on the price at which ‘Gladly’, she mailed in reply. ‘How does 12 January 2088 to offer new investments. It would just be foolish to compete sound to you?’ She slams her laptop shut, shoves it into the has a comfortable with each other unnecessarily. Her bank would not benefit protective cover and puts it away in her rolling suitcase. from it, and neither would she. ‘Isn’t that a strange job, confamiliarity to her, sultant at a bank?’ her friends Ella and Rob asked recently at Reindeer one of their annual dinner parties, ‘Particularly in these The man dances against the flow of commuters with the even though she doesn’t times?’ They studied economics together and that creates a paralytic gait of Keith Richards. Nonchalantly he barges know one of them by certain bond of friendship. She didn’t immediately have an onward until he reaches the train. He flicks away his answer ready. Strange? Wasn’t it stranger still that everyone cigarette and boards. A moment later he’s standing straddlename or even by sight enjoys making fun of the banks but that nobody withdraws legged as a cowboy in the doorway of her compartment. A the money from their account to look after it themselves? loud yawn escapes from beneath the curls. He is a rarefied Over the sorbet Ella and Rob compared their salaries and man, the sort that lives on cigarette smoke and the air asked her how she could justify to herself working at a large, bubbles in his beer. He drapes his supple body over the seat ‘predatory’ bank. Didn’t she feel that she was stealing from the poor to make the rich even opposite her. richer? She answered with a counter-question: How could Ella and Rob justify the fact that He: Hi. the dessert was always mango sorbet? All three of them had to laugh at that. It was easy to She: Are you following me? find a different subject: the art of making one’s own sorbet. They’d seen it recently on TV. He: Ha ha.

It didn’t look that difficult at all.

She: Why do you laugh?

He: YOU are following ME. A stubborn sticker She: I don’t think so.

She opens her laptop. The mails trickle in with a reassuring melody. She has enough He: I do think so. e-mail to spend her travelling-time usefully. A slight woman with short grey hair enters the She: Maybe we’re just both on the train for our work? carriage and sits down resolutely beside her. She’s the trendy grandma type, who can call He: Not me, anyway. on her daughter to discuss her sexual problems with her new boyfriend and expects her She: You just go round in circles? daughter to show her the same respect by not keeping a morsel of her own bedroom secrets He: You wear me out. to herself. The woman’s iPod is turned up so loud that she recognizes a battle song by Muse. She: Huh? I work.

The woman risks damaging her hearing, or might already be so deaf that the music has to He: You wear me out, I’m exhausted. And I have nowhere to sleep.

30

///

WILD ANIMALS

Saskia de Coster

//////// / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ////////////////////// She: Surely there’s always somewhere you can sleep?

He: I wouldn’t know where.

She: You could go to IKEA for example. Plenty of beds there, for free.

He: Glad to, if you go with me.

She: I mean to sleep.

He: Is this a proposal?

She: You should try getting yourself locked-in there.

He: Cosy.

She: Sneak inside a wardrobe, a Pax Malm for instance, and only slide the door open when the store is in total darkness and you don’t hear any more noises ...

He: You’ve already done that! Tell me everything!

She: ... then you come out ...

He: ... and then we go to the Swedish speciality shop to drink Marienstadt beer and gorge ourselves on reindeer balls ...

A Marienstadt giggle bubbles up inside her. She can’t help it, she laughs uproariously. The eyes of her rigid fellow passengers register the man’s childlike flirting with the woman in the business suit. She’s that woman. Her customary attire belongs in dreary scenes around a conference table.

From a cloud A simple “hi”, that was all it took to throw open her life. That’s how they’d describe it in a woman’s magazine. The story of a woman who gave up everything for a crazy future, removed from the tedium that comes free of charge with certainties. The umpteenth story dreamed up by the editorial staff. They get out together in Gare du Nord in Paris. He carries her rolling suitcase off the train and hoists it over his shoulder, like a piglet ready for the slaughter. The little wheels are left spinning.

‘You should pay close attention for once’, he says as he hauls her case through the station hall, ‘surprise does not exist in a station hall. It’s not unusual for someone to put a five hundred euro note in a coffee beaker, but neither is it for someone to pee the beaker full.

Everything is what it is. Everything exists’.

Just imagine: A man gently strokes the hall’s marble wall while listening intently on his mobile.

Just imagine: A strip of toilet paper skips across the floor from beneath a lady’s skirt.

Just imagine: A man hides a suitcase behind a rubbish bin and tomorrow the police blow up the suitcase.

Just imagine: Someone eating an ice cream and studying the numbers and letters of the rattling timetable while licking and nodding.

She tells that as a six-year-old girl she thought the ice cream in a carton with a picture of a bear on it was made by polar bears. She used to yell No, I don’t want ice cream!

The bears were kidnapped from the North Pole, just so that she could eat ice cream. They were put into nasty, sweltering factories, while they absolutely couldn’t stand the heat.

Everyone cried shame about the children who had to risk their lives in textile factories, but no one had a thought for those poor polar bears. That, she tells, is how her unbridled love for animals began.

Beautiful and ruthless She: Why are we doing this?

He: The second grade sports instructor said to me: ‘Daniel, you have to do something outdoors. Something that’ll really get you moving. You have the body for it, and the energy’.

She: Oh really, so your name is Daniel. If you hadn’t told me yourself, I would never have believed it.

He: What did you think then?

She: No idea.

He: Just say a name.

She: Georges or something.

He: Ouch ugh! You don’t really mean that do you? What must you think of me? Georges?

She: It was just a name that popped into my head.

On the steps of the Gare du Nord, forming an obstacle to many travellers, they search for the men among the crowd who might indeed be named George. They call out: ‘Georges!

Georges! Monsieur Georges!’ but no one answers. And in between all the human legs, she sees the unmistakable spotted, slightly bent, high-speed legs of Georges, but she knows she has to keep quiet because she’s a mature woman now, and Georges is a small, dead cheetah.

Just imagine: a child wife in the crowded station, hand in hand with a man with black curls and a cheetah on a leash. They ask you for directions to the IKEA. You know the way and explain it to them.

Saskia de Coster (1976) Saskia de Coster is a Belgian visual artist and author. After her studies in language and literature at the Catholic University at Louvain, in 2000 she debuted with the novel Onder elkaar and created a furore in 2002 with Vrije val.

Since 2002 Saskia de Coster has been the editor of the Dutch language literary periodical Dietsche Warande & Belfort. De Coster writes a monthly column for De Standaard, under the title Big Deal. In addition De Coster is active in the theatre and writes lyrics for songs for Daan Stuyven and Dez Mona.

Alain Bergala (1943) Alain Bergala is a former editor-in-chief for the famous French film journal Cahiers du Cinema. Bergala has written books and articles on Rossellini, Bergman, Kiarostami and other film figures. He acquired fame chiefly as a specialist in the work of Jean-Luc Godard. In 1982 he premièred as a director, and has since them made work for cinemas and television, including Faux Fuyant (1982) and Fernand Leger, les motifs d’une vie (1997). He currently teaches film studies at the University of Paris III and at Femis. Bergala was the curator of the exhibition Correspondences: Erice-Kiarostami for the CCCB in Barcelona (2006) and Centre Pompidou in Paris (2007). In October, 2010, his exhibition Brune/Blonde opened in the Cinematheque Française in Paris

David Toop (1949) David Toop is an English musician and writer. Since 2001 he has been a researcher at the media school of the London College of Communication.

David Toop was a member of the experimental rock band The Flying Lizards.

He writes for The Face and the music journal The Wire. In 1984 he published his first book on the hip hop scene, Rap Attack. His book Ocean of Sound: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Works was issued in 1995, followed quite recently by the book Sinister Resonance: The Mediumship of the Listener (2010). As a musician he has worked together with Eastley, Brian Eno, Scanner, and others. In 2000 Toop was curator of the exhibition Sonic Boom, in the Hayward Gallery in London.

He cannot believe that she had associated him with the name Georges and for the next half hour he just keeps going on about it. To the point of endlessness.

WILD ANIMALS

Saskia de Coster /// 31

MARCO PANDO QUEVEDO (PE)

Invisible Train / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ////////////////////// In ‘Invisible Train’, an enigmatic series of four pencil drawings, Pando plays with the visual confusion in reflections of light, such as the effect the sun has on the glass of misted up train windows when it suddenly breaks through.

Pando describes it as follows: ‘The landscape in front of me, together with the opposite landscape created a new scenery that appeared and disappeared in my window according to the speed of the train and the rays of the sun. I had the feeling that I was watching an invisible train outside travelling next to me in the landscape.’

As in a storyboard of an invisible train, we see images of a typically Dutch agricultural landscape pass before our eyes: stills of an empty winter landscape, with rows of bare trees, pastures bounded by straight drainage ditches and dikes. Through the sparing use of colour - only a warm yellow is employed functionally - Pando evokes the cinematic feeling of dusk setting in early: it is cold and wet outside, warm and dry inside.

32

///

MARCO PANDO QUEVEDO Invisible

Train

//////// / / / / / / / / / / /

Marco Pando Quevedo (1973) Marco Pando is filmmaker, Peruvian by birth, who attended the Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam.

Pando makes experimental animation films and drawings in black celluloid based on film technique. He often presents his work in sturdy light boxes of glass and steel as single-frame animations. As the son of one of the last cinema owners in the Peruvian city of Cajamarca, Pando encounteres the enthralling world of movies at an early age. His work refers in a poetic manner to the nostalgic film images from his youth. In addition to drawings Pando makes films and animations, like Tourist Hitchcock (2003), in which Pando looks at his family and native city through the eyes of the film director Alfred Hitchcock.

His short films, King of the Mountain, Butterfly of the Border, The Bug Man, The End of Cinema, and The Boat, are regularly screened at international exhibitions and film festivals. Beginning in October, 2011, his work will be seen in the exhibition ‘Windflower, Perceptions of Nature’ at the Kröller-Müller Museum (Otterlo).

This is a special contribution for the TRANS///FER magazine

MARCO PANDO QUEVEDO Invisible

Train /// 33

SARA VAN DER HEIDE (NL)

Constructed Map (Amsterdam - Paris) ////////////////////// Van der Heide visualizes in a constructed photograph the concept of traveling. Both the city plans are based upon a circular shape. Where as in Paris the Seine crosses the city, in Amsterdam the IJ and the Amstel flow through the city. In Constructed Map (Amsterdam-Paris), the two halves of the cities meet and the IJ becomes the Seine. By placing the right side of the map of Paris over the map of Amsterdam, a new (mental) city has arisen.

34

///

SARA VAN DER HEIDE Constructed

Map (Amsterdam - Paris)

//////// / / / / / / / / / / / /

Sara van der Heide (1977) Sara van der Heide followed the post-academic program at De Ateliers in Amsterdam (1999-2001) and lived and worked for one year in New York (2007). Currently she lives and works in Amsterdam, where she works on a multi-faceted oeuvre as a visual artist. Van der Heide’s serial works are characterized by an intriguing game between form, color and content. In her work current events and history, personal subjects with the factual and fiction come together in a subtle manner.

By doing so an intriguing way of mental awareness is being raised.

This is a special contribution for the TRANS///FER magazine

SARA VAN DER HEIDE Constructed

Map (Amsterdam - Paris) /// 35

FOUNDATION ATELIER HSL

/ / / / / / / / / / / ///////////////////////

Introduction The Atelier HSL Foundation was established in 2000, to highlight the cultural significance of the creation of the HSL South while this new rail line was being built.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (Project Organisation HSL-South) did this in order to help refocus the political and social debate provoked by the construction of the line and foster a discussion of the overlooked significance of the new rail line not only on a rational basis, but also through art and cultural projects.

A co-initiator, along with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, was SKOR (Foundation for Art and Public Space). At the request of the initiators, Mark Kremer and Michiel Schwartz wrote the publication Scenario Atelier HSL, contouren voor een kunst-en cultuurprogramma rond de hogesnelheidslijn.

This document was the basis for the organisation of Atelier HSL.

Landscape In its first years Atelier HSL placed the accent on projects and commissions that had to do with alterations – temporary or lasting – in the urban or rural landscape that were caused by the HSL South construction. The photographers Bas Princen, Jannes Linders, Bertien van Manen, Jem Southam and Wout Berger were commissioned to photograph the ways in which the landscape was changing, each working in their own style. Linders, Princen and Berger showed the mountains of sand and the excavations along and around the route. For Van Manen and Southam the role of the construction activities was much more in the background. Together, these photos form a document of the construction of the line.

The changing landscape also served as the background for the model railways created by the artists Hans Op de Beeck and Yvonne Dröge Wendel. As a reaction to the perfect organised landscapes in the model railway world, the two artists created My Train and Sand Kino, respectively, in limited editions. ∆V, by the landscape architect Casper Le Fèvre, permits the traveller to experience the landscape from the train in a unique manner. For the leftover space between the HSL, the Schiphol line and the N207 motorway in the community of Haarlemmermeer, Le Fèvre proposed the placement of running rows of poplars close to the rail line, planted so that the distance between the rows steadily became smaller. Looking at them from the train window, the traveller has the sensation of acceleration. The trees were planted in 2008, and can now be seen by travellers.

36

///

FOUNDATION ATELIER HSL

Train travel Not only the changing landscape, but also the train and train travel itself was a point of departure for projects and commissions. In High Speed in Slow Motion, an artwork by Gert Robijns, a model train in Park Overbos begins its trip simultaneously with the departure of the actual high-speed train in Amsterdam. At an average speed of 0.0025 km/h it takes just as long to to reach its destination as the high speed train. At a particular moment the visitor of the park is able to see both trains.

Robijns made this work as a commission from Atelier HSL and the City of Breda, for Park Overbos in Prinsenbeek, at Breda.

Seeking out the essence of the journey itself, the photographer Elger Esser made a trip in an old motorcar along the route from Amsterdam to Paris. The experience of time and space during the search for roads or landmarks, the experience of the unpredictable in travel, and the quest for motives, are the aspects that interested Esser. He therefore avoided motorways wherever possible, in favour of taking crisscross of back roads. His project is a counterbalance to the HSL, which is planned from purely rational considerations. The series of photographs that Esser made for Atelier HSL give an atmospheric, almost romantic image of old factories, gantries, barns and landscapes. The photographer Valérie Jouve made a short film, Time is working around Rotterdam (running time 25 min.). The film examines the different times, rhythms and speeds in daily life in and around Rotterdam. Images of people walking in the city, in the tram, on bicycles and in motorcars take turns with images shot from trains or automobiles, or from a boat.

Stations While in the 19th century stations functioned as ‘entrance gates’ to the city, today their network function is much more central. The station has developed into place where passengers transfer to other forms of transportation. Before long travellers will be able to meet one another at Sunny Cloud, a meeting point designed by the artist John Körmeling. Sunny Cloud consists of a hanging sculpture comprised of aluminium hexadecagons and two sorts of white LED light. Depending on the architecture of the HSL station, Sunny Cloud will be realised in different variations.

Stations were also the subject for the photographers Frank van der Salm and Hannah Starkey. Both travelled to various European stations: Frank van der Salm concentrated on photographing details of the architecture and surroundings of the stations while Starkey turned her camera on the passengers waiting on and around the platforms.

Unique Atelier HSL is a unique initiative. Not only was the HSL South itself the result of a public-private partnership (PPP), but so was Atelier HSL. It is true that Atelier HSL was set up with concept of the ‘percentage rule’ for art expenditures for governmentsponsored building projects in mind, but it does not fall under it. The budget for Atelier HSL is therefore much more limited than if the percentage rule would have been applied. From its inception Atelier HSL was financed and actively supported

by Infraspeed, the consortium that was responsible for the superstructure of the line.

This supporting role was already conceptualised during the tendering process, in which bidders were asked what role art and culture played for them and how they would concretely work out this role in relation to the HSL South.

Public-private partnership Atelier HSL is the result of a public-private partnership (PPP). The initial contribution from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and SKOR operated as a catalyst for involving other partners and funders in this project. All their contributions together formed the budget, which was five times higher than the initial amount, from which the long-term art programme could be realised.

This financial chain reaction (also termed a ‘multiplier effect’) makes Atelier HSL a model project for the national government. Atelier HSL therefore also fits perfectly with the present policy of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, which seeks to encourage public-private partnerships in art.

International With the establishment of Atelier HSL it is the first time that the Dutch tradition of linking art commissions with public buildings such as schools, hospitals, prisons, government office buildings, etc. was applied to a large-scale infrastructural project – the High Speed Line and everything connected with it: the route, the landscape, the trains and the stations. It is a project with a strong international component.

Through Atelier HSL, The Netherlands is not only connected to the network of European high-speed trains, but also to an international network of art and culture.

FOUNDATION ATELIER HSL

///

37

Art and Infrastructure

/ / / / / / / / / / / / //////////////////////

In 1951, following a proposal by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences (OK&W), the so-called ‘percentage rule’ was established for building projects administered by the Ministry of Housing and Construction. This rule prescribes that a percentage of the building costs for large government projects may be devoted to visual art. The Ministry of Housing and Construction, and in particular the Atelier of the Chief Government Architect, is responsible for the implementation of the percentage rule. This tradition of investing in art during the construction or renovation of government buildings is also found in many other European countries.

In 2005 Atelier HSL and the Atelier of the Chief Government Architect organised a working conference in The Hague with similar institutions from Spain, England, Sweden, Germany, and other countries. Even the United States, which generally is not associated with having a government-supported arts policy, has this rule.

There the U.S. General Services Administration is responsible for the Art in Architecture Program.

The funding for various art projects for government buildings, airports and subway lines is made possible by reserving a fixed percentage of the building costs for art; this percentage lies between 0,5 and 2% of the total building costs. Sometimes, for large projects, co-financing is also sought through a public-private partnership.

Various scenarios are possible for choosing the artists, as was the case with Atelier HSL. An artist can be invited to fulfil a commission; a limited competition can be organised among a restricted number of artists for proposals, after which a jury makes the definitive choice; or one can opt for an open competition in which anyone can make a submission.

This sort of commission policy is especially visible at the many international airports where art is often present. From New York’s JFK, Los Angeles, Heathrow, and Seoul to our own Schiphol, the presence of art is much more the rule than the exception in these places. Airports extend commissions to artists for different locations, and with increasing frequency there are even annexes of museums being set up. The first artworks for Schiphol airport go all the way back to the 1960s. A familiar – and much loved – older work in this context is the 1975 sculpture De Appel, by Kees Franse.

Schiphol thinks that art lends a special significance to its airport. It provides the human dimension, it offers diversion, it surprises, and of course it also beautifies its surroundings. One of the best known works at Schiphol is Coda (1995), by Dennis Adams, the red and white artwork that serves as the meeting point in the central hall.

38

///

ART AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Various subway lines also conduct an active commissions policy. In Europe, in addition to Amsterdam, cities like Brussels, Paris, Stockholm, Moscow, Lisbon, Newcastle, London and Munich all have a similar tradition of commissioning art, intended for public spaces. One of the finest European programmes for art in metro stations is to be found in London: Art on the Underground. The aim here is to present the best international artists in the London Underground, for an audience comprised of commuters, tourists, employees of the underground system, and arbitrary citizens of the city. Art on the Underground presents both established artists and new talents; large-scale projects take turns with small projects for intimate locations.

A project that is now under development is a work by the French artist Daniel Buren, for the Tottenham Court Road Station. Buren will provide a graphic design for the station in its entirety.

Art is also to be found in the subways in Asia, Latin America and the United States (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas and many other cities). The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) in New York has even published a guide that directs its readers along artworks and photographic work.

When the first metro line – the East Line – was built in Amsterdam in the 1970s, artworks were realised in all its stations. For instance, in the Wibautstraat station we find a work by the political cartoonist Opland, in the Strandvliet station a light work

by Rolf Adel, and at the Waterlooplein station a graphic work by Willem Sandberg.

In the start-up phase for the North-South line, now under construction, a budget was earmarked for placing art in the new metro stations.

Like airports, train stations are important transportation hubs, where art is absolutely called for. Thus a large sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle hangs in the central station in Zurich, a massive bronze sculpture by Paul Day has been placed in the new St. Pancras station in London, and an enormous wall mural for the station in Graz is being made by Peter Kogler.

In The Netherlands, the NS and ProRail have established the Office of the Railway Architect which, under the direction of the Chief Railway Architect, advises both organisations in the field of architecture, industrial design and graphic design.

As a response to ‘Openbaar Kunstbezit’, the then popular TV and radio series about art, toward the end of the 1960s the NS began placing reproductions of images discussed on that programme in its trains. Since 1974 artworks have been actively commissioned by the Office. In contrast to the addition of art to building projects, which was sporadic and dependent on the intentions of the individual architects, art in the trains was a consistent component of every project involving rolling stock.

//////// / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////////////////////

The right implementation of art in public spaces such as airports and train and metro stations creates a sense of identity linked with that place. We experience artistic additions to buildings, such as embellishment on the faรงade or autonomous artworks, as more personal and more striking, and last but not least, in contrast to the obtrusive attention-grabbers of commerce, these autonomous images offer us a pleasant sort of reflection. In addition, art can also provide an extra, enhancing contribution to the experience of a trip, long or short. A trip from A to B should not have only a functional purpose, but should also be able to provide an aesthetic, visual and auditory experience.

Atelier HSL fits into the tradition described here, but is, up until now, the first organisation to be involved with a high-speed line, and to include cities in different countries in the same project. The modern and international character of TRANS///FER, the closing event of Atelier HSL, makes it unique in its kind.

ART AND INFRASTRUCTURE

/// 39

Overview of Atelier HSL projects

//////////////////////

Film commissions

D esign commissions

I want you to by-pass all stops Artist: Gerald van der Kaap (Netherlands) Period: 2001

Multiples Artists: Hans Op de Beeck (Belgium), Yvonne Dröge Wendel (Netherlands)

Claudy Jongstra (Netherlands), Minke Themans (Netherlands)

and Ben Zegers (Netherlands), Period: 2002 - 2003

Time is working around Rotterdam Artist: Valérie Jouve (France) Period: 2005-2006

Meetingpoints at six NSP stations Artists: Matali Crasset (France), Liam Gillick (UK), John Körmeling (Netherlands),

Xavier Veilhan (France), Hewald Jongenelis / Sylvie Zijlmans (Netherlands).

Period: 2005-2011

D igital Commissions Railmovie & Timelinks Artist: Lust (Netherlands) Period: 2002

A design for places leftover after planning Artists: open competition Period: 2003-2011 Art in the Fyra train Artists: Frank Tjepkema, Giny Vos, Jurgen Bey Period: 2006-2011

Photography commissions Commissions were awarded for photo series from various approaches, including the changing landscape, European stations, the train passenger etc.

Artists:

Period:

40

///

Bas Princen (Netherlands), Bertien van Manen (Netherlands), Jannes Linders (Netherlands), Wout Berger (Netherlands), Frank van der Salm (Netherlands), Elger Esser (Germany), Jem Southam (United Kingdom), Hannah Starkey (Uinited Kingdom) 2001-2005

OVERVIEW OF ATELIER HSL PROJECTS

Art commissions along the line Park Overbos Breda Artist: Gert Robijns (Belgium) Period: 2006-2011 Gemeente Haarlemmermeer Artist: Casper Le Fèvre (Netherlands) Period: 2007-2010

Exhibitions by Atelier H S L

Conferences

On Track Locatie: NAi, Rotterdam Period: 2002

Fast Images, High Speed and public Space Locatie: Post CS Amsterdam Period: 2004

Eurailspeed Locatie: Madrid (SP) Period: 2002

European Expertmeeting on Percentage Scheme in art Locatie: Ministerie OC&W, Den Haag Period: 2005

Eurospoor 2002 Locatie: Jaarbeurs Utrecht Period: 2002

Projects unrealized

A design for places left over after Planning Locatie: Groothandelsgebouw Rotterdam Period: 2003

Krijn de Koning Locatie: HSL infocentrum, Leiderdorp Period: 2003

Internationale Architectuur Biennale Locatie: Las Palmas, Rotterdam Period: 2003

Lust Locatie: Fyra Train Period: 2005

New Directions Locactie: KunstRai,Amsterdam Period: 2003

Doks Locatie: Lansingerland Period: 2006

Kunstwerken ism Atelier Rijksbouwmeester, ter gelegenheid van Nederlands voorzitterschap EU Locatie: Den Haag Period: 2004 Halte Brussel Locatie: De Buren, Brussel (B) Period: 2005 Nest (Valerie Jouve) Locatie: Nai, Rotterdam Period: 2007

OVERVIEW OF ATELIER HSL PROJECTS

/// 41

SPONSORS

/ / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ///////////////////////

Main sponsors

Project sponsors

COLOFON

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / //////////////////////

foundation Atelier HSL Board of Directors Brigit Gijsbers - Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment Henk Döll - Döll Architecten Peter Valk - ING Bank NV Paul van der Wilden - Infraspeed BV Kees-Jan Dosker - ProRail

Photos © Atelier HSL and the participating artists Gert Robijns (p. 23-24) - Wessel Keizer Casper Le Fèvre (p. 25-26) - Aviodrome Luchtfotografie Sara van der Heide (p. 35-36) - Johannes Schwartz Giny Vos (p. 39) - Gert Jan van Rooij

Postbus 1947 1000 BX Amsterdam The Netherlands www.atelierhsl.nl

Special thanks to All employees: ProRail, NS, NS Hispeed, Infraspeed Maintenance, Thalys International, B-Holding, Clear Channel, Schiphol Group.

Director Nelly Voorhuis Curatorial team Nelly Voorhuis (2001-2011) Anne Reenders (2001-2007) Marente Bloemheuvel (2006-2008) Ernst van der Hoeven (2009-2011) Text Nelly Voorhuis Ernst van der Hoeven Miriam van Ommeren Copy editor Miriam van Ommeren Translations Don Mader, Mike Ritchie Anne Demonicault Graphic Design Opera Graphic Design, Breda Website Design Coen Warmer/Mono9

42

///

sponsors / colofon

Partners Ministry of Infrastructure and Environments SKOR (Foundation Art and Public Space) Mainsponsor Infraspeed Sponsors NS Hispeed, DHV, Movares Co-financers of special projects NS, ProRail, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Municipality of Breda, Municipality of Haarlemmermeer.

LOCATIONS

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ///////////////////////

Christoph Girardet/ Matthias Müller

Saskia Olde Wolbers

Scanner

Amsterdam CS Sign house, platform 13-14

Virtual space Free download, www.atelierhsl.nl

Yves Bélorgey

Jan de Bont

Alexandra Bircken

Schiphol Platform 5

Rotterdam To be announced

Antwerp Platform 23-24

Madelon Vriesendorp

Pipilotti Rist

John Körmeling

Thalys Bar

Brussel Midi Platform 5-6

Six NSP stations

Gert Robijns

Casper Le Fèvre

Breda Park Overbos

Haarlemmermeer

Amsterdam CS Middle tunnel Cuypers-hal, eastside

locations

/// 43

SKOR ARt PROjectS AlOng the hSl-Zuid nOORd hOllAnd

PeOPle MAteRiAlS ideAS PlAceS SKOR is involved in the conception of Atelier HSL, working with the idea that art and train travel are intimately connected. Not only do artists travel a great deal around the globe, train transportation and travel are notions that are vividly present in contemporary art.

In the ten years since Atelier HSL was established, SKOR has realised many art projects that relate to travelling in a broader sense. These artworks refer to the history of travelling, to maps and cartography, to the global movements of people and commodities, to the social and psychological aspects of travelling, or to the design and experience of the landscape.

Atelier HSL has always thought of the HSL-Zuid as a route that is meant to transport people, materials and ideas. For the occasion of the final exhibition, SKOR presents an overview of the people, materials, ideas and places connected to art projects that were realised in the area around the HSL-Zuid track.

1

1

FOcuS On lAndScAPe (2011)

People > Landscape architect Hubert de Boer, amateur photographers, iPhone users. Developed in partnership with Landschapsbeheer Nederland, Landschap Noord-Holland and Waag Society.

Materials > 600 landscape photographs from around 1975, iPhone application with GPS routes.

Ideas > This project records the drastic or not so drastic changes to the landscape in the province of North Holland by re-photographing locations featured in a collection of 35-year-old pictures by landscape architect Hubert de Boer. Participants try to find the locations with an iPhone application, re-photograph them and upload their images to the Internet.

Places > Online and in 600 locations in the North Holland landscape.

Materials > Projection of Spinoza’s Ethics, video and sound recordings.

Ideas > In cooperation with various cultural organisations in sixteen countries, approximately 20 pages of Spinoza’s Ethics were read aloud by a group of local volunteers.

Lines from the text were projected onto a wall and read in chorus, alternately by men and women. Audio and video recordings were made of these performances. The different English accents underline the global nature of the project. Ultimately, the entire project will be rounded off with a CD and book.

Places > Readings took place in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, Edinburgh, Tokyo, Xiamen, Moscow, Paramaribo, Berlin, Istanbul, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, Tunis, Lisbon, Dubai and Barcelona. The project was exhibited at W139 in Amsterdam in 2009.

AMSteRdAM

nOORd hOllAnd 5 2

hAARleM

3

4

AMSteRdAM

6

4

hOOFddORP

2

8

15

leiden

9

the hAgue 10

ZOeteRMeeR

11

7

delFt

gOudA 12

13

ROtteRdAM

cASZuidAS (MOving iMAgeS in Public SPAce) (2007)

People > Several artists per day. Initiated

by Virtueel Museum Zuidas in partnership with SKOR. Materials > 40 m2 daylight video screen, with sound.

Ideas > Selections of film and video works by established and emerging artists from across the globe are shown on this urban screen for eighteen hours a day, from 6 a.m. until midnight. The projections mingle and merge with the public life on the Zuidplein, addressing an eclectic crowd of managers and office workers, students and scholars, and all the other residents and users of the Zuidas.

Places > The screen is located on Zuidplein next to Amsterdam Zuid/WTC train station in Amsterdam.

tRAnScRiPtiOnS (2009)

People > Artist James Beckett, commissioned by the Netherlands Cancer Institute.

Materials > DNA code from tropical fish, steel frames from China, series of tiny handmade objects.

Ideas > Transcriptions involves transcribing fish genetic information into various historical languages from all over the world – old and sometimes obsolete systems of information storage and communication. The resulting texts are visualised by the artist in large series of intricately crafted objects that are displayed in large frames in the six-storied stairwell. The work pays homage to the people working in this cancer research institute.

Places > Languages and objects from South Africa, Beijing, Paris, Japan, Germany.

The work is located at the stairwell of the research building of the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam.

hAARleM 14

PutteRShOeK

3

Past

44

///

Ongoing

ADVERTORIAL

MOndiAl ReAding PeRFORMAnce (2009)

People > Artist Job Koelewijn and reading groups from sixteen countries. Initiated by the Amsterdam Spinoza Circle, developed in partnership with the Spinoza Center in Amsterdam and W139.

5

the MAPPing iMPulSe (2007)

People > Artist Mariana Castillo Deball.

Commissioned by the Noord-Hollands Archief in Haarlem.

Materials > Marble, stone, wood, glass and steel.

tRAvelling ideAS / ideAS On tRAvelling Ideas > Design for a choir screen, inspired by a gigantic jigsaw puzzle that the artist found in the Noord-Hollands Archief. It represents a map of Europe and was made by cartographers Covens & Mortier around 1750. The work highlights the relationship between the transformation of the Dutch geography – resulting from land reclamation – and the revolutionary developments in cartography since the 16th century.

Places > The new Visitor’s Centre of The Noord-Hollands Archief in the Jansstraat in Haarlem.

hOOFddORP

6

inlAnd SeA (2005)

People > Artist Maria Barnas (photographs

by Gert Jan Kocken). Commissioned by Spaarnepoort mental health institution in Hoofddorp.

Materials > A walk from Spaarnepoort to the sea, a 250-page poetry anthology, photographs.

Ideas > As a gesture this project marks a clear line from the inner world to the world outside. Inspired by the water that dominated the area surrounding Hoofddorp during the land reclamation of Haarlemmermeer in 1840, and by the desire to venture outdoors, Maria Barnas walked the shortest possible route from Spaarnepoort to the ocean. The installation and poetry anthology may encourage residents and visitors to venture outside, not only in reality, but in their thoughts too.

Places > Spaarnepoort mental health institution in Hoofddorp.

gOudA

leiden

8

An OutdOOR ARchive (2001)

People > Artist Andries Botha. Commissioned by the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden.

Materials > A collection of objects cast in metal and displayed in cases.

Ideas > This work for the National Museum of Ethnology by South African artist Andries Botha seeks to confront the Dutch visitor by presenting a collection of typical Dutch objects. These objects -which he came across during a ‘safari trip’ through the Netherlands - include speculaas (traditional spiced cookies), bicycle parts, dildos, dog turds and a football.

Places > The installation is part of a collection of art works realised at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden in 2001.

Places > The sculpture is temporarily located at the city hall of Zoetermeer and will have a final place at the new city museum.

There are three more copies of this statue: one in the Gezelle Museum in Bruges, one in the Wurth Museum in Schwaebichhall (Germany), and one in the Claudine and Jean-Marc Solomon Collection in France.

delFt

11

POStPetROliStic inteRnAtiOnAle (2010)

People > Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller, musician Mathias Vette, choral ensembles. Commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

Materials > Wooden stage, performances by several choirs, recordings.

Ideas > The project involved transporting a wooden stage down the Rhine from Basel (where the Rhine begins) to Rotterdam (where it meets the sea). It stopped at locations along the route and local choirs performed the Postpetrolistic Internationale, an anthem of hope-in-action, on the stage against a backdrop of local industry, to mark humankind’s changing relationship with fossil fuels and energy use.

Places > The work was realised in the context of Portscapes, a series of art projects developed around the construction of Maasvlakte II in Rotterdam Harbour in 2010.

PutteRSOeK

14

MOZARt’S chAiR (2011)

People > Artist Florian Göttke, residents of Puttershoek Materials > Bronze sculptures on stone pedestals.

Ideas > It is quite possible that Mozart sat on this chair when he stopped in Puttershoek for lunch on his way from Antwerp to The Hague. Göttke made a series of small monuments that mark occasions, symbols and key moments in the history of Puttershoek. From his research and his conversations with inhabitants he selected stories that reflect the mentality and the identity of this village and its people.

Places > This project is part of a series of artworks developed for De Wijk van je Leven (The Neighbourhood of Your Life), a newly built residential neighbourhood in Puttershoek.

glObAl

the tRAin cOMPARtMent (2008)

9

nORFOlK teRRAin OPen tO the Public (2007)

People > Artist Lara Almarcegui, realised in collaboration with Stroom Den Haag.

Materials > Information guide, empty terrain.

Ideas > Nature rapidly reclaimed this terrain after the departure of the Norfolkline shipping company. Almarcegui’s project enabled people to explore the former Norfolkline site in its vacant state before the area was redeveloped. The artist demonstrated that abandoned land is an important part of the urban environment.

It appeals to our imagination since it offers unlimited possibilities.

Places > The project was realised for the occasion of the National Architecture Day in The Hague. The Norfolk Terrain is located in Scheveningen harbour.

A guiding StAR (2006)

People > Artist Euan MacDonald. Commissioned by the Marketing Gouda Foundation.

Materials > Film.

Ideas > This work features a falling comet that clearly alludes to the Star of Bethlehem, which was probably a comet itself.

This endows it with not only Biblical but also astronomical significance. The sky featured in his film gradually reveals itself to be a model, by which MacDonald explores the contrast between religion and science, between the miraculous and the rational.

Places > The film was shown at the festival 2006 Light Years in Gouda.

12

the hAgue

ZOeteRMeeR 7

ROtteRdAM

10

the MAn with A light (2006)

People > Artist Jan Fabre, commissioned by the municipality of Zoetermeer Materials > Bronze statue, stone pedestal.

Ideas > This sculpture has stepped off its pedestal and is offering passersby a light from a gas flame with a simple and intimate gesture. A poem on the pedestal refers to the myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods to give to people so that they could be civilised. In the same way, the sculpture – a self-portrait of Jan Fabre – passes on to others the fire that he himself received.

People > Artists Lino Hellings and Yvonne Dröge Wendel and residents of De Bieslandhof, the institution that commissioned the work.

Materials > Six comfortable train chairs, screens with moving images of polder landscapes.

Ideas > In our society waiting is only acceptable if it is associated with an important activity or with travel. It is around this notion that De coupé (The Train Compartment) was created. It conjures up a journey and provides residents in this nursing home with the idea that they have taken a short trip from the confined space of their ward.

Places > The installation is located in a hallway in the renovated wing of De Bieslandhof.

15 13

the FORgOtten SPAce (2010)

People > Artist Alan Sekula and director Noel Burch. The film was produced by Doc. Eye Film and co-produced by WILDart FILM. It was co-financed by VPRO, CoBO, ORF, the Austrian Film Institute, Eurimages and MEDIA Programme.

Materials > Travels to various harbours, film.

Ideas > This film examines the sea as the ‘forgotten’ space in our modern era, and deals with the triumphal march of container transportation. The filmmakers follow the containers from the factories (Shenzhen) to the distribution centres (Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Rotterdam), and then to the transport hinterland (Betuwe Route, Alameda Corridor). During the journey, they focus on ‘small stories’: how globalisation is affecting local communities, workers, farmers and consumers.

Places > The film moves between four port cities: Rotterdam, Bilbao, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. The project started as a commission from Lingewaal Municipality, on the occasion of the development of the Betuwe Route. It has been featured at film festivals in Venice and Utrecht in 2010.

OPen 21: (iM)MObility (may 2011)

People > contributing editor Eric Kluitenberg and authors Wim Nijenhuis, Charlotte Lebbe, Marc Schuilenburg, John Thackara, Nerea Calvillo, Tania Goryucheva, Florian Schneider, Joss Hands and Daniel van de Velden.

Interview with David Harvey by Merijn Oudenampsen.

Materials > Open is a cahier on art and the public domain that is published bi-annually.

Ideas > In our time new regimes of mobility and immobility are developing that are characterized by ever-increasing internal contradictions. This issue of Open investigates how this new mobility regime functions. What is the extent to which this regime can still be guided or influenced? Are there options for a radical redesign? And is this dynamic only determined by economic factors?

Places > Open is a SKOR initiative published

by NAi Publishers.

For specific information and visitors’ schedules for these art projects see www.skor.nl Editing: Martine van Kampen. English text editing: Mark Poysden. Design: Katja van Stiphout. Images: 1) Courtesy Landschapsbeheer Nederland, 2) Photographer: Gert Jan van Rooij , 3) Photographer: Stefanie Gratz, 4) Courtesy Nederlands Cancer Institute, 5) Photographer: Gert Jan van Rooij, 6) Photographer: Gert Jan Kocken, 7) Euan MacDonald, 8) Photographer: Guido de Visser, 9) Lara Almarcegui, 10) Peter Varkevisser, Courtesy gemeente Zoetermeer, 11) Photographer: Gert Jan van Rooij, 12) Photographer: Paloma Polo, 13) Alan Sekula and Noel Burch, 14) Florian Göttke, 15) Cover design: Thomas Buxo. © SKOR 2011

ADVERTORIAL

/// 45

The ING Collection connected trough the HSL ING Art Management Piet van den Boog Solid Vision , 2007 oil, acrylic paint on steel 160 x 100 cm

AMSTERDAM

MOSKOU Qiangli Liang, Little thought, 2005 bronze 40 x 20 x 30 cm

LONDEN Henry Lamb Portrait of a young man in yellow, 1910 oil on panel 39 x 29 cm

BRUSSEL WARSCHAU

Gustave de Smet Young lady in pink, 1917 oil on canvas 86 x 69 cm

Paulina Olowska Summer Memory, 1999 oil on canvas 180 x 120 cm

MADRID Philip Akkerman Seflportrait No. 9 2002 oil on panel 50 x 43 cm

The ING Group Collection has a strong international focus and as a result from company history, tradition and growth is represented in several countries.

Facts and figures - Amount of artworks: over 15.000; - operated by: national curators in the Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, Poland and the United Kingdom - Disciplines: painting, sculpture, drawings, photography, glass and prints - Focus: international contemporary art, focussed on figurative art

art.management@ing.com www.ingartcollection.com

10011 adv ing artman.indd 1

46

///

ADVERTORIAL

06-04-11 10:59

Neem 100+ luisterverhalen

mee op reis De audioboeken van deBuren

U zit in de trein. U verveelt zich een beetje maar u heeft geen zin om te lezen. deBuren biedt de uitgelezen kans om toch van literatuur te genieten. Het Vlaams-Nederlands Huis deBuren heeft namelijk een unieke collectie audioboeken die u gratis kunt downloaden.

Korte luisterverhalen voor op reis, als filetroost of… tijdens het strijken.

citybooks : de Verenigde Steden

van Europa

Reis zonder u te verplaatsen!

Via www.radioboeken.eu kunt u maar liefst 100 Radioboeken gratis downloaden. Radioboeken zijn luisterverhalen van

Met www.city-books.eu neemt deBuren u mee op reis door Europa. Vijf Vlaamse, Nederlandse en andere Europese

een half uur die u altijd en overal kunt beluisteren maar nooit en nergens kunt lezen. Deze verhalen zijn geschreven voor

auteurs reizen af naar interessante maar niet voor de hand liggende steden. Ze schrijven over hun indruk van de stad een

Ook de citybooks vindt u als audioboek in de iTunes Store en

deBuren door bekende Vlaamse en Nederlandse auteurs als Kader Abdolah, Herman Brusselmans, Adriaan van Dis,

citybook: een literair verhaal dat deBuren publiceert als gratis te downloaden audioboek van een half uur én als e-book in

Marjolein Februari, Hella Haasse, Arthur Japin, Herman Koch, Yves Petry, Dimitri Verhulst en vele anderen. Deze

het Nederlands, Engels en Frans.

schrijvers lezen hun Radioboek zelf aan u voor: een intieme ontmoeting met de literatuur van de Lange Landen.

Samen met vierentwintig foto’s en vierentwintig filmpjes levert dit unieke stadsportretten op die u kunt lezen, bekijken en

In samenwerking met Radio Nederland Wereldomroep is

beluisteren. Een greep uit het aanbod tot en met 2011: Bernard Dewulf over Oostende, Joost Zwagerman over Sheffield,

een flink aantal verhalen vertaald naar het Frans, Engels en Spaans. Zo delen wij onze staalkaart van de hedendaagse

Jeroen Olyslaegers over Utrecht en Stefan Hertmans & Frank Westerman over Tbilisi. Vanaf 2012 lees u ook wat

literatuur met al onze Europese buren. Ook voor kinderen is er een klein maar fijn aanbod beschikbaar. Het gaat om

Arnon Grunberg & Mauro Pawlowski vonden van Lublin, hoe Simone Lenaerts Graz heeft beleefd en wat Abdelkader

verhaaltjes van 15 minuten in het Nederlands, Frans en Berbers, geschreven en voorgelezen door onder andere Joke van Leeuwen en Rachida Lamrabet.

Benali u te vertellen heeft over Sheffield en Skopje.

100 Radioboeken van Vlaamse en Nederlandse auteurs

als e-book op www.city-books.eu.

Samen met Europese partners en met de enthousiaste steun van de Europese Commissie voor Cultuur werken we aan een literaire atlas van de Verenigde Steden van Europa.

De Radioboeken zijn een enorm succes. Ze werden via de iTunes Store al meer dan anderhalf miljoen keer gedownload en vinden elke maand nieuwe luisteraars!

groete n uit U

trecht! www.c ity-bo oks.eu

citybo oks

utrech t

foto ©

Lisa Va

n Dam

me | ww

w.lisav

andam

e!

Oostend it u n e t e gro s.eu ity-book www.c

me.be

s citybook

rtij foto © Ma

n van de

Griendt

| ww w.m

artijnvan

degrien

dt.nl

oostende

Vind ons in de iTunes Store, zet de Radioboeken en de citybooks op uw iPod en neem uw eigen literaire audiotheek overal mee naartoe!

HSL-krant.indd 1

14/07/11 17:26

ADVERTORIAL

///

47

www.atelierhsl.nl

48

///