Ridderkerk
The first row of poplars makes an oblique angle with the facade
of the main building. The angle is the same as the row of
Italian Poplars on the north-east side of the building. The angle which the parallel rows make with the architecture results
from a two dimensional sculptural element in the back of the school.
Farel -1988|1990 parallel rows of Italian poplar
trees and steel elements - Farel School - NL
After ten
years of growth the row of poplars reached a scale that recalls the paintings of the
row of poplars by Claude Monet. When he was in the process of doing a series
paintings of a row of poplars on the banks of the River Epte, he heard
that the land was put up for sale and the trees were to be felled. So, in order to be
able to finish his work, he purchased the land together with a wood merchant
who could cut down the trees after Monet was finished with this project.
poplars on the Banks of the River Epte by Claude Monet
"Monet used to be my favorite painter during my teens. And my infatuation with
him may be one of the underlying factors which have influenced me to choose for the Populus Nigra Italica in
some of my environmental and land art projects.
Of course it is the fact of the
structured and mathematically placed trees, which along with their verticality
attracts the observing eye. It prompted Claude Monet to paint them and even buy
them for that purpose; my work follows mathematical rules, as well as the laws
of nature. That is the drive for me to I incorporate
them into my work and make my sculpture with the trees themselves, instead of only painting
them."
Lucien den Arend
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