Olaf Holzapfel
AS WIDE AS THE TRUNK IS LONG
Something special is going on with the
city's appearance. One could call that an
anachronism. The urban architecture
looks as we would like it to; it is contem
porary, yet also reminds us of the begin
ning of the eighteenth century. The out
side changes according to the demands
and fashion of the period, but behind that
fafade a much older technique is hidden.
The internal construction is apparently
much better equipped against the test
of time than is the fafade. The wooden
frames, used since living memory, may
have been replaced by steel and concrete,
but the essence of the construction tech
nique has changed little.
Upon seeing the remarkable beam
construction in the Oostkerk (East
Church), during his visit to Middelburg,
Olaf Holzapfel decided to make it his
source of inspiration for Fafade 2012. The
statue he created is a pure construction
and thus an abstraction of a building. It
exposes what we normally cannot see:
the idea of carrying a load, the spatiality,
or the notion of a massive weight. His
structure shows the essential core, capa
ble of keeping a building together, and
providing the strength to withstand a
storm. Holzapfel also demonstrates the
professional acumen involved. What was
once hand-made is now almost complete
ly machine-made. However, not a lot has
changed in the fundamental construction.
Holzapfel's construction is an auton
omous work of art, detached from the
building of which it is an integral part.
This structure is a pars pro toto, which in
its abstract simplicity evokes the image
of the universal structure. It is there, free
in space. It is an independent structure,
simultaneously giving space and tak
ing up space. A structure you can walk
around, making the soul of the building
nearly tangible.
The statue is totally made out of
wood. Wood makes time visible. Wood
does not hide its age. It connects the
present wherein it still functions with the
past in which it was transformed into a
construction. Over the years though, the
knowledge of woodworking and carpentry
has dwindled. No one builds the way they
used to.
The statue has artesian, fragile, aes
thetic, and silenced qualities, but it also
has a clear human touch. A construction
made out of wood has a closer connection
to the human dimensions than any other
contemporary material. How tall, how
wide can you build? When the Roman
churches were built in the Middle Ages
the answer was clear. The church could
be as wide as the length of a tree trunk.
This was the measurement, and it is still
very human. Thus material, construction
and spatiality were completely in balance.
This compares in abstracto to the balance
we experience in Holzapfel's statue. It
looks like an object you could easily lift
and take home with you; a nomadic
sculpture that would feel at home wher
ever people live.
www.olafholzapfel.de
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