Foundation Art and Public Space
artist: Paul Roncken
located in: Sint-Oedenrode,
client: Kunststichting Sint-Oedenrode
The Kunststichting Sint-Oedenrode (art foundation) and SKOR commissioned landscape architect Paul Roncken to make a thorough investigation of the relationship between art, history and architecture, both in and around Sint-Oedenrode. The starting point of the investigation, ‘7 waarvan 3’ (‘7 of which 3’), is the historical legacy of Sint-Oedenrode’s fortresses that, in the Middle Ages, heralded a new period of wealth and power. The title ‘7 waarvan 3’ alludes to the fact that only three of the seven fortresses remain today.
Paul Roncken
‘7 waarvan 3’
cover '7 waarvan 3'
It is the Kunststichting Sint-Oedenrode’s ambition to once again make the original structure of the village visible and recognizable. Paul Roncken was therefore asked to produce a document that, apart from representing a historical reconnaissance, would also expose a wide range of themes. The latter would, in turn, serve as starting points for artists. The scenic value that has been attributed to the fortresses in Sint-Oedenrode plays an important role in Roncken’s research. Of equal importance, however, are the village’s individual characteristics that have, throughout the centuries, exerted a captivating force on nobility and clergy alike. The outcome of Roncken’s investigation will determine the relevance and placement of five types of art projects that will each forge a relationship with the historical legacy of Sint-Oedenrode. Roncken himself refers to it as an overdimensionalized project, a temporary manifestation, a trail, an oracle and a contemporary relic.
With ‘7 waarvan 3’, the Kunststichting Sint-Oedenrode will have a solid framework from which to start its search for artists who can realize the works. ‘7 waarvan 3’ will furthermore offer the selected artists a cohesive poetic outline of Sint-Oedenrode’s history.
