{"id":87243,"date":"2018-05-17T13:09:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T11:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=87243"},"modified":"2026-01-20T10:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:01:11","slug":"nieuw-kolossaal-kunstwerk-op-campus-moet-eieren-van-petri-doen-vergeten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/05\/17\/nieuw-kolossaal-kunstwerk-op-campus-moet-eieren-van-petri-doen-vergeten\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the new colossal campus artwork be the true heir of the \u2018Eggs of Petri\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finally, at last, it\u2019s almost at an end. July sees the arrival of the successor to the \u2018Eggs of Petri\u2019, the artwork so beloved by former EUR students, which was consigned to the scrapheap when the campus was redesigned. Originally, a new artwork was planned to be placed in 2013.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKathrin Schlegel<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

For decades the Eggs were a familiar place on the campus to shoot your graduation photo; if it\u2019s up to Nils van Beek (main advisor to the project), Der Stein des Weisen<\/em> will take on that role in Park Noord. Artist Kathrin Schlegel created Der Stein<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brief was to develop a work of art of the same iconic quality as the Eggs,\u201d says Van Beek. \u201cThe core of the work is a stainless steel blob-like structure, a kind of thought cloud like those in a comic strip. Park visitors will be able to stand on the pedestal situated in front of it, following in Erasmus\u2019 footsteps. You are standing in front of the cloud, and in it you \u2018see\u2019 your thoughts mirrored.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The blob-like thought cloud.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKathrin Schlegel<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Bombardment<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKathrin Schlegel<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

\u2018Following in Erasmus\u2019 footsteps\u2019 can be taken quite literally, because the original plinth served as the foot of the Erasmus statue at the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam from 1677 to 1963. This makes it one of the two oldest plinths in the Netherlands, and one which bears three hundred years of the city\u2019s history. \u201cThere are cracks in it that were probably caused by the bombardment of Rotterdam\u201d, says Van Beek. This burden of history is one of the main reasons why installing Der Stein<\/em> has taken five years longer than planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe original intention was to unveil the work during the 2013 centenary. Of course, the delay was also down to the sudden death of Carmen Heijmerink and Jeroen Bodewits from the Art Department,\u201d adds Van Beek. The two died in a traffic accident in Belgium in 2013.<\/p>\n

Museum piece<\/h2>

But the university achieved considerable headway by incorporating the historic pedestal into the artwork. \u201cThe plinth has been quietly mouldering away in a courtyard at the Erasmus Gymnasium since the 1960s. You\u2019d normally see a couple of scooters propped up against it,\u201d Van Beek recalls. \u201cOnly when we started to do something with it did the plinth become important again. We were almost done with the design, when heritage experts issued their pronouncement: this is a museum piece, you have to be careful with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That scotched the plan to let visitors stand directly on the plinth. \u201cThen Schlegel proposed erecting a glass showcase around the pedestal, but initially she wasn\u2019t keen on it. She had designed a work of art, and suddenly an new aspect was put into it, changing the overall meaning of the work.\u201d Visitors will be able stand on the glass rather than directly on the pedestal. The climate in the display case is regulated by a sophisticated ventilation system to prevent any green build-up, and the plinth remains visible.<\/p>\n

Couple of tons<\/h2>

Putting the artwork in place also caused a few headaches. It weighs a couple of tons and is six metres high and four wide, so you can\u2019t put it just anywhere. Park Noord, which was not even planned when the artwork was conceived, ultimately proved to be the perfect location. \u201cIt\u2019s a really nice place,\u201d says Van Beek. A huge foundation can already be seen in the middle of the park.<\/p>\n

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The foundations for the artwork in Park North. <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tElmer Smaling<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Significantly over-budget<\/h2>

A project overrunning by five years must have been very expensive. Van Beek admits that the project has run \u2018significantly over-budget\u2019. \u201cBut that\u2019s if you take everything into account: the advice, the reports, the extra showcase. The artist\u2019s budget has remained largely unchanged, despite her having worked on it far longer. In spite of everything, the university has supported it without wavering, which is extremely commendable. Hopefully this statue will be embraced by people to the same degree as the Eggs,\u201d concludes Van Beek.<\/p>\n

According to the schedule, the work of art will be installed in July, and will be unveiled during the anniversary week in September.<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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