A PLEA FOR HUMOUR AND ORGANIC GROWTH

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A PLEA FOR HUMOUR AND ORGANIC GROWTH

They are ambitious and have already distinguished themselves within their field, or are well on their way to conquering the art world. For five months they lodged in the former Sint Nicolaas Monastery in the Zuidas, where for the fourth time The Zuidas Free Spaces Artists in Residence* took place: artist and architect Lieven de Boeck (B), artist and designer Frank Havermans (NL), performance and installation artist Sachi Miyachi (JP), photographer Shinji Otani (JP/NL) and composer, computer musician and artist
Tom Tlalim (IS/NL ). The purpose of the Zuidas Free Spaces residency is to involve artists in the urban development process in the Zuidas so that they can give their reactions in complete freedom. All five of the artists have a definite interest in the urban landscape, but as far as actual changes go, their ambitions are modest: ‘I can only offer my personal view and inspire others,’ Otani feels. ‘While we have neither the power nor the money to exercise direct influence, we do show that it can be done differently,’ think De Boeck and Havermans. The majority of the artists focused on the relation between the built environment and the individual. Shinji Otani takes the most objective position in this regard. He searched for traces of personal life in the area’s neutral business spaces and shows the results in two series of photographs (see the explanation to the side and the enclosed poster). Tom Tlalim, Lieven de Boeck and Frank Havermans are amazed in general at modern urbanism, with its constant search for greater perfection, and at the Zuidas in particular. Real urbanity arises precisely in ‘the conflict, the lack of clarity and the mistake,’ says De Boeck. Moreover, a perfect environment offers hardly anything allowing you to become attached to it as an individual. During his wanderings through the district, letting himself be led by chance sounds, Tlalim discovered that it is impossible to endlessly roam about in the Zuidas. ‘Everything is straight, there are no curves, twists or surprises in the urban design. To an individual, that comes across as fairly aggressive,’ says Tlalim. With a combination of video, text and sound, he wants to share his experienceswith the public. Tying in with this, not only does Lieven de Boeck argue for allowing ‘the mistake’, he introduces that mistake by trying to become the owner of a miniscule piece of private space on the Mahlerplein in the Zuidas: an imperfect circle of 44 square centimetres, which is only visible in the Land Registry. The acquisition procedure was underway, but ran into difficulties. In contrast to the ideal images of artists’ illustrations and scale models – ‘illusions blissfully separate from reality’ – Havermans offers his drawings and three-dimensional ‘think and discussion’ models based on the map of the Zuidas. The gigantic model that is literally growing out of his TOFUD (Temporary Office For Urban Development) displays a tangle of high-rises and roads. ‘I show that a city is a growing organism. With an excellent road network, the Zuidas can more easily become integrated with the surrounding areas. I really don’t get the idea of putting Route A10 below the ground. After all, aren’t roads and traffic part of
a big city? I think the Zuidas actually is too respectable, the buildings too low. As far as I’m concerned, the ambitions could be ten times higher.’ Sachi Miyachi is fascinated by the neutrality of this new city that is dominated by invisible technology. ‘I don’t feel at
ease in it, and my guess is that I’m not the only one. Since places like this turn up all over the world, I will have to find a strategy to overcome my uneasiness.’ After a series of ideas for breathing life into the Zuidas with humour and stories, including a plan to hold an office chair race circling around the empty streets during the weekend, Miyachi decided to drive away her negative feelings by building a surrealistic ‘golf course’ as an exercise in optimism. The exhibition Zuidas Free Spaces A.I.R., in De Kapel, Prinses Irenestraat 19, Zuidas Amsterdam, runs through 12 March. On 12 March, there will be a finissage with a presentation of the Free Spaces A.I.R. catalogue, including a contribution by urban planner Stan Majoor (Onomatopee publishers). For opening hours, see www.virtueel-museum.nl . * The Zuidas Free Spaces A.I.R. is a project of the Virtual Museum Zuidas in collaboration with partner institutes The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (Fonds BKVB), VU Amsterdam /VU Brussels and Muziekcentrum Nederland / NFPK+. Tom Tlalim received additional support with a research subsidy from Stroom

The Hague.

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