The podcast will be available on Wednesday, May 14, from 14.30:XNUMX PM The Beehive Stone can be heard during a special 'live' listening session at the artwork The Beehive Stone on the Coolsingel. The podcast lasts about 30 minutes and can also be listened to here from 14 May.
About the artwork
In 2024, during Open Monument Day, the restored The Beehive Stone unveiled by mayor Aboutaleb. This monumental facade artwork from 1930 by sculptor Hendrik van den Eijnde (1869-1939) adorned the facade of the famous Magazijn de Bijenkorf, a hypermodern building designed by architect Willem Dudok, on almost the same spot until 1960. During the bombing in 1940, the building was badly damaged, but the facade stone remained intact. When the building was demolished in 1960 to make way for the metro, the stone disappeared from view and fell into oblivion. It was not until forty years later that the work was 'rediscovered' on the distribution site of the department store in Woerden. A long return journey of more than twenty years followed, to finally regain its place on the Coolsingel.
About the podcast
Designer Jan Konings, who was commissioned by BKOR to design a suitable contemporary plinth for The Beehive Stone designed, takes you on a quest for the different meanings of the facade stone in this podcast. Now that the statue is back in Rotterdam, this physical reminder raises questions about reconstruction and restoration, but also about identity.
The podcast The Beehive Stone was commissioned by BKOR. The project is part of the series Z-Files, art and the city, a program by BKOR and SIR in which art, public space and the city are discussed through lectures, events, presentations, manifestations and excursions. The aim of the program is to draw attention to the special collection of artworks in Rotterdam and to make current developments a topic of discussion.
Colophon: Concept, composition and editing: Jan Konings, Kim Bouvy, Femke Bosma | Editing, mixing, sound design: Femke Bosma | Production: Kim Bouvy | Advice: Jennifer Pettersson | Music: Rutger Zuydervelt/ Machinefabriek | Location recording: Operator.
