Giant Urban Sculptures of Florentijn Hofman28. Oct2012
Humour, sensation, maximum impact; internationally renowned artist Florentijn Hofman (Born 16.04.77 at Delfzijl, Netherland) does not settle for less. His sculptures are large, very large, and are bound to make an impression.
An encounter with one of Hofman’s extraordinary sculptures invites us to stand still for a moment and to look; to really look and to take a picture if you like.
Hofman: ‘My sculptures cause an uproar, astonishment and put a smile on your face. They give people a break from their daily routines. Passers-by stop in front of them, get off their bicycle and enter into conversation with other spectators. People are making contact with each other again. That is the effect of my sculptures in the public domain.’
Take Rubber Duck (2007) for example: a gigantic 26-metre-high yellow rubber duck. It is an inflatable, based on the standard model that children from all four corners of the world are familiar with. The impressive rubber duck travels the worldand pops up in many different cities: from Auckland and São Paulo to Osaka. A very positive
artistic statement that immediately connects people to their childhood.
Another example is Fat Monkey (São Paulo, 2010), a huge monkey tied together from 10,000 brightly coloured flip-flops, the Brazilian shoe par excellence. The monkey is lying stretched out in the park,where his 15-metre length makes passers-by stop dead in their tracks.
Hofman’s sculptures often originate from everyday objects. A straightforward paper boat,a pictogram of an industrial zone or mass-produced little toy figures can all serve as
sources.
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"Little Factory is a three-dimensional oversized pictogram of an industrial zone made out of steel frame and corrugated steel roof sheets. It is situated at the Azeven Noord (along the N31) an industrial site in progress at Drachten (NL).The work questions the architecture on business parks as well as the use of those sites. It's not only a landmark but it could be also used for an artist in residence program."
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"A site specific installation inspired by the location.The paper boats are situated on the formal shipyard of Bartel Wilton at Schiemond next to the Rotterdam river the Maas."
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They are all ready-mades, selected by Hofman for the beauty of their forms.Subsequently he crafts these into clear and iconic images; cartoonish blow-ups of reality
that alienate and unsettle through their sheer size and use of materials.
Nevertheless they are immediately identifiable and have an instant appeal. Inflatables, window stickers,agricultural plastic sheeting: for Hofman any material is suitable for turning into art.
The skin of Big Yellow Rabbit (Örebro, 2011) for example consisted of thousands of Swedish shingles. 
"The Big Yellow Rabbit is a temporary 13 meter high sculpture. It's a enlarged cuddle toy made out of swedish products thrown against the statue of Engelbrekt."---
A wooden frame was covered in reed for Muskrat (2004). 
"The village of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel is located at the very lowest point in Holland (6,86 meters below sea level). It is amazing how water is being controlled here by waterworks and dykes. The musk rat (ondatra zibethicus) supposedly is the biggest threat to dykes because of its digging into them and therefor the ‘most wanted’ animal in The Netherlands. This resulted in a temporary sculpture come mascot of a giant alter ego of the musk rat, which shows the size of the problem the animal is said to cause."---
For Look-out Rabbit (2011) he screwed together many wooden planks and for Fat Monkey he used the aforementioned flip-flops. Hofman’s projects are often very labour-intensive. Gravity is being defied though by his love of materials and craft. 
"The Lookout Rabbit is a temporary 12 meter high sculpture. It's a rabbit with a red dot which you can enter and have a look out over the river the Waal."---
Next to temporary and permanent sculptures in the public domain Hofman has realised several other projects. In Beukelsblauw (2004-2006) he brought attention to a block of houses, destined for demolition, by painting the buildings bright blue from top to bottom.---
"This was once one of the most unseen blocks of houses in Rotterdam, and by applying a layer of only 2 micron of blue paint onto it, it became Rotterdam’s most photographed one. By redecorating this block, which was built in the first years of the 20th century, people start looking again at what was and is there, and maybe think about what they will get in return.It also puts in perspective blocks of houses as such, architectural 'fashions' and demographic processes like city migrations, by making those blocks look like toy houses or archetypal buildings on an architect's maquette." - Florentijn Hofman
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For Zirkus Zeppelin (2008), on the occasion of the opening of motorway N470, Hofman chose 470 people to fly with him on the world’s largest zeppelin and view their everyday surroundings from the air. ---
In these specific projects Hofman invites spectators to reconsider things that at first appear to be a matter of course.---
Although artists do not always tend to value reactions of passers-by, for Hofman the audience is an essential part of his work. He takes due care of embedding his images in their surroundings. For Steelman (2011) he therefore engaged in conversation with young local residents of the Staalmanplein (Staalmansquare), a formerly rough neighbourhood in Amsterdam Slotervaart. Subsequently he conceived of an 11-metre high bear with a pillow under its arm. Hofman: ‘The bear is tough and is standing straddle-legged. Those who live in this neighbourhood have to stand their ground. At the same time the bear is a symbol of fraternization. People socialise at the foot of the sculpture.’ 
All info about Florentijn Hofman compiled from his personal website.All photos Florentijn Hofman.
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