Zoeterwoude collection
If the Heineken gallery in Amsterdam is a
well known art centre, the Zoeterwoude
Brewery, some 45 km to the south of the
city, can claim to be virtually an art gal
lery in its own right.
When it was opened in 1975, technolo
gically one of the most advanced
brewery facilities in Europe, the compa
ny made almost its entire wall space and
parts of its grounds available to gifts
from donors.
These generous people were asked to
make work available through the Stich
ting Kunst en Bedrijf, the Dutch founda
tion whose purpose may be broadly
described as linking art and industry. In
doing so, the foundation works to the
benefit of both by ensuring publicity and
a showing for contemporary artists and
at the same time producing works of
quality for industrial patrons.
There was a stream of gifts embracing all
forms of art oil paintings, water
colours, modern works by the dis
tinguished Dutch artist Karei Appel,
lithographs, screen prints, sculptures
and crafts (there was even an Alpen
stock, a musical instrument not unlike
that familiar to Wagnerian audiences)
and a selection of children's paintings
from a school in Zoeterwoude.
In all, several hundreds of people and
numerous companies donated work for
Zoeterwoude's walls, its halls, its
galleries, its grounds, many of them
pooling donations to give substantial
gifts. In this way the brewery acquired a
modern rope tapestry representing the
Ces pages présentent quel-
ques unes des oeuvres en
trois dimensions qui ont pu
être admirées ces dernières
années dans les vitrines de la
galerie d'art Heineken d'Am-
sterdam.
Cycle of Life, by Annet Plenter-Gaaike-
ma.
Affinity with art
The sense of affinity with art pervades
the entire brewery. Here and there it
achieves success with apparently un
promising material, notably in a wall-
mounted piece comprising sticks tied
together by scout techniques a gift
from the Boy Scouts of Zoeterwoude. In
the bottling canteen there is an example
of an unusual art form, a kinetic display
which is in fact a glass block containing
figures; as the viewer moves the figures
appear to move too. And in the hall of the
administration block there is another
glass piece given by a glass factory, a
huge yellow, brown and silver mural,
some five metres long, inspired by the
sparkling profusion and dazzling mobili
ty of beer bubbles.
Apart from providing a home for Dutch
art treasures and for the work of so many
Dutch artists in all spheres, Heineken
has made its own contribution to the
Zoeterwoude environment in the form of
a remarkable concrete work, sym
bolising growth, that stands in the town
sports park. Even more significantly,
perhaps, the company has given tangi
ble expression to a local legend.
A baby's golden cradle, so the story
goes, lies buried in the meadow on
which the Zoeterwoude brewery now
stands. So firm is local belief in the exis
tence of a fortune for anyone who
unearths it, that many people are said to
have paid the former farmer owner for
the right to dig in the meadow on a
"finders-keepers" basis. But no-one
ever found the golden cradle.
Today on a table in Zoeterwoude's
council house there stands a work by
well-known Dutch goldsmith Archibald
Dunbar, a gift to the community from
Heineken. It is in the form of a green
stone representing the meadow. From it
a golden cradle protrudes. It is fre
quently regarded in silent wonder. Is it
really a myth? Will it ever come to light in
any other form? Or does it in some
strange way exist only as a symbol of the
never-ending search for artistic perfec
tion, the ceaseless quest for the inspired
ideal that Heineken so actively aids and
fosters?
étincelante et la mobilité aveuglante des
bulles de bière. Non seulement Heine
ken a fourni un asile aux trésors artisti-
ques hollandais et aux oeuvres de tant
d'artistes de tous genres, mais la société
a également contribué a l'environne-
ment de Zoeterwoude sous la forme
d'une grande tente utilisée pour des
concerts située sur la place du marché
et d'une remarquable oeuvre de béton
symbolisant la croissance, qui se dresse
dans Ie pare des sports de la ville. Enco
re plus significatif peut être, la société a
donné forme a une légende locale.
L'histoire veut qu'un berceau en or soit
enterré dans Ie pré oü la brasserie se
dresse maintenant a Zoeterwoude.
On croit tellement que celui qui Ie déter-
rera fera fortune que bien des gens, dit-
on, ont soudoyé ancien propriétaire
pour avoir Ie droit d'y effectuer des
fouilles. Mais a ce jour, personne n'a
encore trouvé Ie berceau d or qui lui re-
viendrait ainsi de droit.
Aujourd'hui, on peut voir sur une table
de la mairie de Zoeterwoude une oeuvre
de l'orfèvre bien connu Archibald Dun
bar, don d'Heineken a la communauté.
C'est une pierre verte représentant une
prairie d'oü surgit un berceau d or. On Ie
regarde souvent avec un émerveillement
muet. Est-ce vraiment une légende? Se
manifestera-t-il un jour sous un autre
aspect? Ou est-il seulement l'étrange
symbole de la recherche sans fin de la
perfection artistique, la quête éternelle
de l'idéal qu'Heineken aide et encoura
ge si activement?
