Seven Tears (2017)

Susan Philipsz

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photo Jannes Linders

photo Jannes Linders

photo Jannes Linders

photo Jannes Linders

photo Jannes Linders

photo Jannes Linders

The artwork

The artwork Seven Tears is currently out of action due to technical problems.

Seven speakers on Willemsplein distribute the sound artwork Seven Tears, which Scottish artist Susan Philipsz (Great Britain, 1958) based on the composition Pavane Lacrimae by Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621). Sweelinck in turn based his Pavane Lacrimae on the song Flow My Tears by his contemporary, composer John Dowland (1563-1626). This song by Dowland, created for lute and voice, was very influential at the time. It is one of the first examples of the then “trend” of melancholia, the feeling mood that was widely written about at the time. It is also often used by Philipsz in her work.

Philipsz experimented for the plaza under the Erasmus Bridge – bordered by apartment complexes, the Erasmus Bridge and the Maas – with different kinds of sound. A first-string version was followed by a wind version with organ pipes, followed by the final version. In this version, Sweelinck’s composition is played by musicians on glasses filled with water. The composition refers to the drops of tears as a motif, and the element of Baroque lament, which appeals to the idea of happiness as a fleeting emotion. Due to its ingenious, precise set-up, with speakers specially designed for the purpose mounted on light poles, the sounds and fragments of music mix with the sounds of the city. The sound landscape accompanies the passers-by walking under the bridge along the Maas with striking subtlety, playing each evening during sunset.

Year
2017
Location
Willemsplein
Dimensions
heigth 5 m
Material
stainless steel
Client
Sculpture International Rotterdam
Owner
Gemeente Rotterdam

The location

Bordered by apartment buildings, the Erasmus Bridge and the river Maas, Willemsplein seems at first glance a curious location for Philipsz’s work. Precisely the Erasmus Bridge, over which cars and streetcars thunder all day and evening, gulls scream and boats honk, is one of the noisiest places in Rotterdam. But this spot, in the middle of the city noise under the bridge, was a perfect location for Philipsz to deploy Sweelinck’s melancholy.

Susan Philipsz

Susan Philipsz

Scottish artist Susan Philipsz (1965, Glasgow) has been using sound for more than 20 years in her work for the public space and art centres. In her work, for which she won the Turner Prize in 2010, she re-arranges and re-interprets existing compositions or pieces of music on the basis of context-specific conditions. Like a sculptor, she explores the spatial qualities of sound and its emotional and cognitive dimensions. Her recent work often revolves around existentialist themes like trauma and sorrow.

Susan Philipsz has exhibited in numerous museums and art centres in Europe and North America. She has realized various projects in the public space, including on Governor’s Island (New York). Philipsz’ work is part of a number of large art collections, including that of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, The Tate in London and Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Her work is represented by gallery Ellen de Bruijne (Amsterdam) and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (New York).

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