Maarten Baas lights up a library in the Netherlands with signage depicting literary phrases and figures
At the entrance to the Central Library in Utrecht, The Netherlands, a colorful new installation features light-up signs depicting names of authors, Latin phrases, and other graphic icons. The art piece, titled Intellectual Heritage, wraps around the library’s arched main entrance as means to extend the library’s messages outside. It was designed by Dutch artist Maarten Baas.
The Central Library occupies the city’s former Main Post Office building, a brick behemoth designed by architect Joseph Crouwel in the style of The Amsterdam School in 1924. Intellectual Heritage spans 31 feet by 26 feet (9.5 by 8 meters) above the door as a surrounding for the upper semicircular window.
(© Maarten Noordijk)
The colorful signage and lit-up digital screens stand out against the brick backdrop in a style and manner reminiscent of roadside advertising and graphics more suited for an entertainment district than a cultural institution. Baas said the work is open to interpretation. “Is the installation pointing to the entrance of a casino in Las Vegas or to the portal of a cultural temple? All of my work is open to numerous interpretations, and the interpretations can be of contradictory nature,” he shared in a statement. Read More…
