City marker S08 The Tower of Cards / The Tower of Letters/ The Joker's Perch

About this artwork.

Please note: due to restoration, The Joker is contemporarely out of place.   

High above the meadow there are three towers: a Map Tower (Kaartentoren), a Name Tower (Naamtoren) with the word 'Groningen' on it and The Joker’s Perch (De Pilaar van de Joker). According to Hejduk, this city marker symbolises time, which tells many stories. The four series of thirteen cards represent the fifty-two weeks of the year. The card game and the joker (the court jester) refer to the Middle Ages – in which games of chance and entertainment played an important role – and thus they also refer to Groningen's 950th anniversary in 1990. The black tower with the austere contemporary letters forms the connection with the present.
 

The work forms part of the Stadsmarkeringen, The Books of Groningen, marking the city boundaries, project.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  John Hejduk

• District
  Industriegebied oost (incl. Rode Haan, Engelbert & Middelbert)

• Year of creation
  1990

• Art type
  Freestanding sculpture

• Material
  Plastic, Metal

• Dimensions
  h 20,00 m