Biography
Tamar Frank (Amsterdam 1974) settled in Hilversum a year after her graduation at the ABK in Maastricht. With the medium light, she makes installations that fill the space and in which the interaction between viewer and object plays a central role. The starting point is the location or existing object which she will literally put in the spotlight to attract the viewer's eye and make them aware of it. Tamar Frank has participated in several exhibitions in the Hilversum museum including Gooische Vrouwen in de Kunst (2010). She also participated in Exotentroost (2010) at the Pineteum garden in Hilversum. She does a lot of projects in the Netherlands as well as abroad. But her main work so far has been in Vancouver where she made a light artwork on the two skyscrapers of West Pender Place (2013). Near Hilversum, you can also find artwork of Tamar under the ecoduct Laarderhoogt (2015) next to the Tergooi Hospital in Blaricum. In 2019 Frank published a book with an overview of her work in the last 20 years.
Heartbeat
This light artwork from 2013, commissioned by Stichting Magdalena was made as temporary work. The little tower on the station building was filled with light and made this tower a beacon visible from a long distance at night time. The green and blue colors alternate with an array of rainbow colors while it slowly turns. This is a direct reference to the artwork of Joost van Santen which is also situated in the tower. He has installed prismatic foil on the ridge which reflects the rainbow colors when the sun is shining. He also added the foil on the train station clock.
If you look closely you’ll see a white turning light flash. This is a reference to the cadence of the trains passing the station. The work was lit until 2017 and turned off after that year. When the Coronavirus disrupted our daily life and we had to face our first lockdown, Frank and the new owner of the building Colliers, decided to bring the artwork back to life. And as a special thanks to the health workers during this difficult time, the work now features a ‘’Heartbeat”. The tower pulsates a red light onset times like a throbbing heart.
‘Heartbeat’ can be seen at 6:30, 17:39, and 22:39 hrs.
Foto: Studio Kastermans/Ben den Ouden