Commissioned by Staatsbosbeheer, Dorst (nl)
Dorst Forest Reserve is rather a gloomy bit of woodland administered by the Dutch Forest Management Agency, hemmed in between Breda and an area with greenhouses. The constant trend for the forest reserve to be nibbled away from the outside has created rather a siege mentality. It was decided, together with the NBKS, to make the reserve more of a public attraction by introducing a number of follies, designed by artists. The idea was to design five follies, each with a specific function – in itself rather a peculiar decision, given that follies generally have no function at all!
Doorenweerd was one of the five artists invited to take part. His plan was to build a stable for the Highland cattle that roam freely there: huge creatures with large horns. They already had one stable, but the idea of making something really special for them met with an enthusiastic response. Doorenweerd decided to make a ‘stable’ with one side left open and a strange perspectival effect, somewhat comparable to the bow ties/exhibition rooms in the paintings of René Daniëls. Byzantine painting provided another frame of reference. It involves an inverted perspective; just as in children’s drawings, all the lines come towards you instead of receding. This fascinated Doorenweerd, both mentally and visually, since it totally flouts the linear perspective that has become customary in Western art. So with his Stable, he succeeded in creating a perspective, literally a view of reality, in which the human viewer is at the centre instead of being a mere observer. If you stand behind the stable, in front of the door, all the lines converge in you. But once you have passed through the door and are actually standing in the stable, it is as if you are standing up very straight with your arms outstretched. The stable’s position also plays a part here: it has its back to the forest and opens up towards an open space with fenland and water. This creates a sense of the entire space converging in a funnel at that point. ‘It’s really intense,’ says Doorenweerd. When asked if any Highland cattle have ever actually gone inside the stable, he is forced to admit ‘I don’t think so. They prefer to be outside. In that respect it is a real folly; it’s mainly for people.’(Elly Stegeman)
Doorenweerd was one of the five artists invited to take part. His plan was to build a stable for the Highland cattle that roam freely there: huge creatures with large horns. They already had one stable, but the idea of making something really special for them met with an enthusiastic response. Doorenweerd decided to make a ‘stable’ with one side left open and a strange perspectival effect, somewhat comparable to the bow ties/exhibition rooms in the paintings of René Daniëls. Byzantine painting provided another frame of reference. It involves an inverted perspective; just as in children’s drawings, all the lines come towards you instead of receding. This fascinated Doorenweerd, both mentally and visually, since it totally flouts the linear perspective that has become customary in Western art. So with his Stable, he succeeded in creating a perspective, literally a view of reality, in which the human viewer is at the centre instead of being a mere observer. If you stand behind the stable, in front of the door, all the lines converge in you. But once you have passed through the door and are actually standing in the stable, it is as if you are standing up very straight with your arms outstretched. The stable’s position also plays a part here: it has its back to the forest and opens up towards an open space with fenland and water. This creates a sense of the entire space converging in a funnel at that point. ‘It’s really intense,’ says Doorenweerd. When asked if any Highland cattle have ever actually gone inside the stable, he is forced to admit ‘I don’t think so. They prefer to be outside. In that respect it is a real folly; it’s mainly for people.’(Elly Stegeman)