A review of Karel Verhoeven’s “Scenes (cour jardin)”: An open invitation to play

Abstract

This is a review of “Scenes (cour jardin),” an ongoing project series by Belgian visual artist and designer Karel Verhoeven. The series consists of different architectural sculptures that are placed in (semi)public spaces. This review evaluates the project in terms of its relevancy for socially engaged artistic practice, and the more fundamental questions it raises: What can be learned from situations created by art in public space? How does an observation guide artistic practice? Is it hypothetically possible to assume that the essence of the work of art is not in its appearance, but in how the work is used? What are interesting opportunities for collaborations between artists and social scholars?