It was created by artist Jan van Munster and therefore perhaps a work of art after all. But actually it is an exit of an atom basement with air system from the time we were really afraid of the Russians. Munster called it the 'Emergency Exit'. I say 'called' because nowadays Munster doesn't want to be associated with it. It is there for over 40 years. The last 15 years, after a major refurbishment of the Coolsingel, it sits on a burial mound, as Munster calls it. After smoothing out the road the foundation rose above ground level. A new design was considered too expensive so without further consultation the foundation was covered with cheap stones, to the dismay of Munster of course. After that little happened. No maintenance, no cleaning, nothing.
Because the Coolsingel in the heart of the city will be redesigned again soon the emergency exit must give way. 'Finally', according to Munster. 'If a work of art is no longer functioning or the wonder is gone or if the environment has changed then you should remove it. It should have been done much earlier'.
The polluted work is black and dirty. On the side, Rob Scheepers' phrase (a Dutch stand-up comedian) has been stansiled by cleaning it locally: '#I think everyone should be able to say what I think'. Those word could have been mine.
