Anna Blaman (1905-1960) was the pseudonym of writer Johanna Petronella Vrugt. 50 years after her passing, the year 2010 was proclaimed Anna Blaman year. Several memorials took place throughout the Netherlands. Alongside the Anna Blamansingel in Amsterdam South-east, the sculpture The secret and the proof by artist Wendela Gevers Deynoot was revealed.
Freedom and loneliness are important themes in the work of the author, who was a striking figure in the 1940s as a female motorcyclist. Blamans work, like the novel Eenzaam avontuur from 1948, included homo-erotic passages, which caused controversy in conservative circles.
The 3 meters high sculpture, made of reinforced concrete with marble, granite and broken glass, contains quotes from Anna Blaman’s oeuvre. The composition refers to the text ‘behalve dat hij keek, luisterde hij alsof heel het huis als een zeeschelp op z’n oor gedrukt stond’ (which roughly translates to ‘besides looking, he listened as if the whole house were pressed upon his ear like a seashell’).
This artwork is part of the Sunday Sculptures series that Stadscuratorium Amsterdam posts every Sunday on Instagram.
Image: Public Art Amsterdam
