Photo Resource Hugo Lambrechts will be the first to receive his degree on Monday, 1 September. When he is presented with his diploma, a rumbling sound that resembles applause will start at the back of the graduation hall. It is the new artwork Light Applause by light and sound artist Mariska de Groot.
The work is a belated gift from the former WUpodium (formerly WU-Genoten), the club of (former) professors and their partners, for the centenary of WUR. That centenary was celebrated extensively seven years ago. A collection for a gift raised 15,000 euros at the time, says former chair Tiny van Boekel.
Competition
It was decided to use the money to commission a work of art. The Omnia promotion hall was chosen because all the professors have a connection with it. A competition was then launched with the leading theme of putting young scientists in the spotlight.
Why no daylight? Young doctors should be put in the spotlight.
Tiny van Boekel, WUpodium
This assignment refers to the fact that there is little daylight in the graduation hall. ‘There was a lot of discussion about this during the design phase’, says Van Boekel. ‘Why no daylight? Young doctors should be put in the spotlight. A skylight was considered, but ultimately proved unfeasible.’
100 wooden spools
Mariska de Groot won the competition with her design Light Applause. With it, she literally and figuratively puts the new engineer in the spotlight. Her work provides light and applauds the young scientist. The applause is created by the rhythmic drumming of a hundred (because of the anniversary) wooden spools on a soundboard.
De Groot started work on the piece in 2021. It then took another four years before it could be hung. This was partly because the technical installation required additional funding. Van Boekel: ‘In the end, this was solved by using money for a job carried out for WUR.’
Cover Prize
De Groot’s artwork is not the only new element in the promotion hall. Another new feature is that the portraits of professors have been replaced. Instead, poster-sized covers of the theses that won Resource’s Cover Prize over the past four years are now on display.
The artwork Light Applause will be heard for the first time in the new academic year. It will be officially inaugurated tomorrow (Tuesday 26 August) at 4 p.m. by Rector Carolien Kroeze and the artist Mariska de Groot.
Translated with DeepL.com
