Sol LeWitt's Paving Patterns

In the late 1990s, the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts commissioned the American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt to design works of art on Markenplein, Februariplein and Koeriersterplein. However, the designs are not classified as art in public spaces. In this project, we tried to understand the government's perspectives and those of other parties involved in this policymaking. Besides political factors, opinions from neighbours play an important role, and surveys and interviews were conducted to collect them. So far, we are still collecting information from various parties, and some tasks need to be done in the future.

Sol LeWitt, an American conceptual artist, had been creating drawings on walls since 1968, but he also designed floors. Around the 1990s, Amsterdam was going through a city renovation. A building project was conducted between Valkenburgerstraat and Rapengurgerstraat, including the squares. Along with this project, the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts commissioned Sol LeWitt to design three floors of Markenplein, Februariplein, and Koeriersterplein. The artwork was titled "Irregular Star ". 

After mapping out the possible stakeholders, we attempted to list their perspectives, wishes, and goals. Stadscuratorium Amsterdam needs to find out how to clean and preserve the work because the pavings are due to maintenance. They also need a way to raise the neighbours’ awareness about the work. On the other hand, neighbours need a way to understand the current situation. As for the Municipality, we barely have any information from them but only know that the negotiation of classifying the squares as public art is ongoing.

At this moment, each group seemed to have only one side of the story, which also applied to us. For example, we barely know the Municipality’s decision-making process and the neighbours’ opinions. In the next phase, we attempt to formulate some actions to acquire more information from the parties involved and transmit information between them.

The release of the open-access interview with Willem Wolff marks a significant milestone, offering valuable insights into the history of paving patterns. As a resident of Koerierstersplein and former assistant to Sol LeWitt, Mr. Wolff's perspective is invaluable. The recent Sol LeWitt exhibition, organized by the Jewish Cultural Quarter and running from October 30th, 2023, to March 31st, 2024, not only showcased these overlooked patterns but also featured an illuminating interview with Wolff, shedding new light on LeWitt's legacy. This interview, titled "Sol LeWitt - De LeWitt pleinen in Amsterdam", is generously provided online by the Amsterdam Jewish Cultural Quarter and can be accessed via the link below.

Although we've received some responses from the survey, many are still pending collection. Broadening our contact list to include perspectives from other specialties, such as art historians, would be beneficial. For example, insights from the exhibition curator could illuminate the historical and aesthetic value of the paving patterns. Moreover, involving staff from the dagelijks bestuur stadsdeel centrum is crucial, given the complexity of public art and the decentralized nature of government policy formulation. Understanding these processes will boost operational efficiency across governmental and other involved parties, particularly in tackling future maintenance issues.

List of Figures
Fig.1-3 (title images) Photo: Ju Ying Lin, 29/11/2023
Fig.4 Photo: Ju Ying Lin, 03/12/2023
Fig.5 Photo: Nicole Vassallo, 03/12/2023
Fig.6 Photo: Alice Mezzetti, 04/12/2023