Two Turning Vertical Rectangles - Rotterdam - The Netherlands - Abstract Public Sculptures on Waymarking.com

The American artist George Rickey made kinetic art: art with moving parts. No fewer than two of these moving sculptures are located in the center of Rotterdam. The well-known work Two Turning Vertical Rectangles on Binnenwegplein is one of them. Rickey became fascinated by constructivist sculpture, a movement in which construction plays the leading role. Rickey was also interested in art from De Stijl and the Bauhaus. In the 1950s, these artists made stainless steel constructions, in which flat and linear parts were alternated. In the 1960s Rickey built his images from shapes that he repeated over and over. Two Turning Vertical Rectangles consists of two identical solid flat parts and is typical of his way of working in the late 1960s. In 1964 Rickey was asked by the Urban Beautification Committee to design an alternative to the fountain on Hofplein. This construction would be twenty meters high with eight identical moving flat elements, while a kinetic object crowned the whole. It was ultimately not carried out, as the new foundation of the fountain would become too expensive. In 1969 he exhibited in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen where a scale model of this design was on display. The design was rejected by the council of B&W, but the shopkeepers' association Stichting Binnenwegplein decided in 1970 to offer the city a work of art on the occasion of the new Binnenwegplein and Rickey was invited to create a sculpture. Two Turning Vertical Rectangles was unveiled on May 7, 1971. The work has become a popular eye-catcher on Binnenwegplein. In 2012, the artwork had to temporarily disappear due to the refurbishment of the square. Due to the raising of the new pavement, the statue could not be relocated, because the rotating metal plates could possibly hit people. The windfall on the square had also changed due to new high-rise buildings, so that the kinetic work no longer functioned safely. After research, the solution was found in raising the pile and weighting the blades. From April 2015 the work could again be admired in the city center, but unfortunately for a short period of time. At the end of November, the wings were seriously damaged for unknown reasons and had to be removed again. The blades were repaired, but before they could be replaced, a safeguard had to be realized so that they could not be damaged again. Poles have now been placed on the square, so that no more trucks can drive into it. Two Turning Vertical Rectangles can be admired again since September 8, 2020. For more information: Sculpture International Rotterdam and Platform Reconstruction Rotterdam.

Title: Two Turning Vertical Rectangles Artist: George Rickey Media (materials) used: RVS Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): Shopping area in the center of Rotterdam Date of creation or placement: 1971

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Date Logged Log   06/28/2023 Theodd1 visited it