by Herbert Hermans

Artwork Description

Panopticon

0.0 x 0.0

For the creation of this work, Bert was inspired by the Vessel (TKA). The Vessel is a public structure and landmark that was built as part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Bert started with two ideas. The first idea was to build the Vessel in Rotterdam in The Netherlands (EUROPE). The Dutch habour city that's famous for its architecture. For that reason you will find various sights from the platform with a view over the modern city of Rotterdam. The second idea was that because of its round and hollow structure, the Vessel has several similarities with a panopticon. The panopticon is a type of institutional building and a system of control designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The scheme of the design is to allow all (pan-) inmates of an institution to be observed (-opticon) by a single watchman without the inmates being able to tell whether or not they are being watched. For this reason Bert painted an eye in the central hall of the building.

Artwork Details

Medium: Painting Oil

Genre: Architecture