Page 45 - Studio International - May 1973

an optical and structural relationship with the
geometric substructure, as a force, too, which
transposes the physical weight of the relief into
the domain of levity and immaterialness. That
is why this relief is, much more than a tactile
relief, a relief of light.
The luxury, the richness of line, light and
change in Shifted Squares contrasts strongly
with the simplicity and sobriety of the relief
Quartering by a left-to-right sawn groove. This
relief shows an even, white square, divided at
one quarter of the height by a horizontal sawn
groove. The groove does not vary in breadth,
only in depth. On the left the depth corresponds
with the thickness of the base, on the extreme
right the sawn cut ends flush with the surface.
Here too the effect of the light and the gradation
of the shade play a decisive role. On the one
hand the groove is a needle-shaped line within
a rectangular framework, on the other it is a
spatial wedge driven into the undivided plane.
The space shoots through the relief, it puts the
entire plane under pressure, evokes within the
framework a counter-force which can be
understood as the force with which the square
seeks to maintain its rectangularity. Our glance
jumps to and fro between line, plane, and
framework. If we concentrate on the sawn
groove, then the upper section of the plane
displays a torsion which conflicts with the
rectangular framework. The framework thus
loses its stability and demands our attention.
Once the rectangle has re-established itself,
our glance is again drawn to the groove, after
which the process starts anew. Thus our eyes
are subjected to a constant doubt, which is fed
by the simultaneous action of opposing forces.
Although the first relief, compared with the
second, exhibits a multiplicity of form and light
relationships, it is still relatively calm; this is, I
think, because the build-up is conceived from
the basis of two countermovements which do
not compete, but complement and enforce one
another. The two movements are kept in
balance by the square, which is tilted 45 degrees
with respect to the framework, and thus takes
up the most stable position of all the phases in
the relief. It is at the corners of this square that
the spiral movements interlock.
In the second relief there is no question of
collaborating motion, but of forces that are
mutually hostile. The use of the means has
been reduced to an effective minimum. Almost
nothing is at hand, and yet the hostility of the
opposing forces gives rise to a relentless tension,
over which our eyes wander without finding
a resting-point. q
MARCEL VOS
•Dekkers, born 1939, lives and works in Gorinchen
(Top)
Quartering by a left-to-right sawn groove 1972
Wood, 120 X 120 X 2 CM
Coll. E. Fernhout
Photo: Cor van Weele
(Bottom)
Shifted Squares 1965
Wood, 120 X I20 cm
Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam
Photo: Waltheer
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