Visual artists Per Abramsen and Rob Maingay worked for six months on this four-ton illegal image. On April 15, 1971, the artwork was unveiled at the Groot IJsselmonde shopping center and was donated to the city residents. Abramsen and Maingay themselves distributed pamphlets to local residents, as waiting for the judgment of a specialized municipal committee was considered a waste of time. Just make that art, they thought. So they placed this sculpture of pipes and concrete without permission for the shopping center. The work is called Beacon. It is a strange and incomparable image that seems to be embraced by local residents. In practice it is regularly used to sit and talk to each other.
Per Abramsen (Rotterdam, 1941 - Rotterdam, 2018) lived and worked in Rotterdam and the south of France. He has exhibited in Marseille, Paris, Philadelphia, New York, Basel, Chicago and many Dutch museums. His work is in the collections of national and international museums. Abramsen works with a combination of constructed and organic shapes. Since 1990 he has been working with shadows, inspired by the bright light in the South of France. The interplay of light, shape and shadow is important in Abramsen's work. He has made several works in public space. He participated in various cultural committees and boards in Rotterdam and was chairman of the Professional Association of Visual Artists (BBK). As an artist he is associated with gallery RAM, for which he also designed the interior in 2001.
Rob Maingay (Semarang, 1939 - Rotterdam, 2016) was a Dutch sculptor, architect and furniture designer. He was born in Semarang on Central Java in the former Dutch East Indies and studied at the Academy of Visual Arts and Technical Sciences in Rotterdam. In 1967 he received a first prize for his sculpture. From 1969 he was active as a sculptor in Rotterdam. He made a few sculptures for public space in different municipalities, metal abstract geometric objects, spiraling or stepped shapes. Until the nineties he made wooden spiral sculptures and also exhibits such waves in wood and stone in galleries, including at Nouvelles Images in The Hague. Maingay lived and worked in Rotterdam-Vreewijk.
Statue with concrete base and post with three tubes
Materials
Concrete, plastic, stainless steel
Dimensions
Height 5 m
Year
1971
Client
Artists initiative
Owner
Municipality of Rotterdam
About the artwork
Visual artists Per Abramsen and Rob Maingay worked for six months on this four-ton illegal image. On April 15, 1971, the artwork was unveiled at the Groot IJsselmonde shopping center and was donated to the city residents. Abramsen and Maingay themselves distributed pamphlets to local residents, as waiting for the judgment of a specialized municipal committee was considered a waste of time. Just make that art, they thought. So they placed this sculpture of pipes and concrete without permission for the shopping center. The work is called Beacon. It is a strange and incomparable image that seems to be embraced by local residents. In practice it is regularly used to sit and talk to each other.
Per Abramsen (Rotterdam, 1941 - Rotterdam, 2018) lived and worked in Rotterdam and the south of France. He has exhibited in Marseille, Paris, Philadelphia, New York, Basel, Chicago and many Dutch museums. His work is in the collections of national and international museums. Abramsen works with a combination of constructed and organic shapes. Since 1990 he has been working with shadows, inspired by the bright light in the South of France. The interplay of light, shape and shadow is important in Abramsen's work. He has made several works in public space. He participated in various cultural committees and boards in Rotterdam and was chairman of the Professional Association of Visual Artists (BBK). As an artist he is associated with gallery RAM, for which he also designed the interior in 2001.
Rob Maingay (Semarang, 1939 - Rotterdam, 2016) was a Dutch sculptor, architect and furniture designer. He was born in Semarang on Central Java in the former Dutch East Indies and studied at the Academy of Visual Arts and Technical Sciences in Rotterdam. In 1967 he received a first prize for his sculpture. From 1969 he was active as a sculptor in Rotterdam. He made a few sculptures for public space in different municipalities, metal abstract geometric objects, spiraling or stepped shapes. Until the nineties he made wooden spiral sculptures and also exhibits such waves in wood and stone in galleries, including at Nouvelles Images in The Hague. Maingay lived and worked in Rotterdam-Vreewijk.
