23. Var är konstverket

ARTIST: Marc Broos (2010)
TECHNIQUE: Silicone and hard plaster filled with special concrete

As you have been walking around on the mount you might have noticed three people on a bench. You might have wondered who they are and why they are sitting so quietly. But now that you are getting closer, you probably understand that they are a part of the exhibition.

This art work consists of three figures. One of them is standing up, while the other two are sitting on a bench. Together they make up the work entitled Where is the Work of Art? Ironically they are looking for a work that they are a part of. With the help of his wife Karin Broos and his friend Lars Lerin, Marc Broos is trying to find the work that he has buried somewhere on the mount. Marc Broos is himself model for the man standing up, while his wife and Lars Lerin are models for the two sitting down. All three are prominent artists.

Marc Broos was born in 1945 in the Netherlands. He is a Dutch and Swedish installation artist, graphic artist, sculptor and painter. He has studied art at the Royal School of Art in Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. During the early 80s he settled in Värmland, where he studied at the folk high-school in Kyrkerud.

Together with his family he runs the Alma Löw Museum in Smedsby, Värmland. In 2020 he was awarded the Lager Leaf from the Värmland Academy. Broos is represented for instance at the Museum of Dalecarlia and in Hagfors and Karlstad.

When Marc Broos was given the task of creating a work of art for Art at the Top, he decided to do something different. He wanted to evoke questions about art. You may say that he has managed to do so, hasn´t he`? After all there are all kinds of sculptures here on the mount. You do remember Motorheart, the buried motor? In that case we knew where and that there was a motor. But for Marc Broos, as for us, it is unclear where the art actually is.

The manufacturing of this sculpture was complicated. The casting was done by Kent Wendel. The bodies are cast in silicone and hard plaster filled with special concrete. Each figure weighs up to 150 kg. To cast heads and hands plastic and liquid plastic were put over the faces of the persons depicted. In this case it was Marc Broos, Karin Broos and Lars Lerin who went through that process. Since the persons close their eyes during the casting, eyes and hair must be done separately. For outdoor wear the sculptures are painted with special varnish.