Michelangelo Pistoletto , Georges Descombes
Westwijk

In 1992 Swiss architect, Georges Descombes, and Italian artist, Michelangelo Pistoletto, were asked to design the square located in the shopping center in Westwijk, a district of Amstelveen. Descombes designed an ensemble of interconnected components: a pavilion, a bus shelter and a bridge. The interlacing of geometrical elements on one long axis was inspired by the ancient Dutch more land. By using old topographical maps, Descombes studied this type of landscape, which is characterized by geometric and rectangular shapes.

With his design, Descombes attempted to revive the ‘genius loci’, to which Pistoletto added a philosophical aspect. Under the pavilion the latter placed four marble sculptures that represent benches and are adorned with the text: ‘Le cose essistenti sanno di essistere’. The question he hereby asks is: ‘Do existing things know that they exist?’ This question is repeated on each of the benches, in English (world language), French (the country from which he obtained the marble) and Dutch. Shoppers and passers-by who are stimulated by this question and wish to ponder over it more can do so on the spot, either sitting or lying down, as the benches are made up of two fused triangles that form a human figure with extended limbs. In this way Pistoletto added a human proportion to the Westwijk square, which in its details and finishing touches, attests to a ‘total concept’ made possible by the early involvement of the artist and the architect in the overall design plans.
(Véronique Hoedemakers)