Rolled up newspaper (1981) Kunst & Vaarwerk
Usually the already present form was the starting point for the works of Kunst & Vaarwerk. The round columns, which widen towards the top, only had to be painted to look like a huge rolled-up newspaper. Kunst & Vaarwerk has come up with various column shapes, but this is one of the most beautiful. It fits perfectly with the pop art style of the triumvirate, blowing up well-known symbols. The column is painted as a front page of the newspaper 'Het Vrije Volk' and all texts and images refer to the port, because one of Kunst & Vaarwerk's missions was to profile Rotterdam as a port city. This is apparent from their 1979 'mission statement' written by Frans Vogel: “More than the large village of Spido, Euromast and Diergaarde Blijdorp, we see Rotterdam as the metropole, which responds to the port scene at salient locations with large visual clues. Creations that appeal to the imagination and are inseparably associated with Rotterdam as a world port city in the minds of not only the residents, but certainly also of the visitors".
De Rolled up newspaper from 1981, after more than forty years, it was in urgent need of a makeover. At the time, the work was carried out by Klaas Verkerk and Leo van den Berg, among others, who then worked for Reclameatelier Leo Mineur. Verkerk (Decorfabriek) and Van den Berg once again supervised the restoration team, which reapplied the entire painting on the pillar. The restoration of the Rolled up newspaper took place simultaneously with the renovation of the entire area around the Zuidplein metro station. The new bus station, of which this pylon is part, will be opened on Monday 13 June 2022.
Kunst & Vaarwerk was an artist group consisting of Cor Kraat (1946), Hans Citroen (1946) and Willem van Drunen (1947) and existed from 1979 to 1992. Kunst & Vaarwerk was a Dutch pop-art variant, which hit back with humor and irony to the harsh urbanity. The scale of the port city called for an art of stature and brutality, but it is also an art against forgetfulness. The group collaborated with the Rotterdam business community to finance the projects and has realized various works in public space.
Rotterdam, Zuidplein platform J, 3083 CX Rotterdam, Netherlands