In spring 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Dam Square in Amsterdam, always bustling, was deserted, silent and surrounded by concrete anti-terrorist blocks. Dutch street artist Frank de Ruwe, known as Frankey, figured that these intimidatingly studded blocks looked like something more innocent – giant Lego blocks – and that the city needed something to lighten the ambient gloom.
The result ? Later in the summer, Frankey created and placed a giant yellow and black Lego figurine of Dutch folk singer André Hazes, whose songs have been pub favorites in the Netherlands for more than 40 years.
PHOTO YVONNE MAK, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Looking at this vent, Frankey saw a dragon there.
“It’s all about seeing the right thing,” explains Frankey over coffee in his Amsterdam neighborhood. I think everyone was looking for some good news in those dark days. »
Frankey continues to enchant Amsterdam with his whimsical and witty street art. Yes, every Saturday he publishes a new work in the Dutch newspaper Het Parool, as well as on Instagram, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It transforms any mundane place in the city – a street sign, an oddly shaped brick, a ledge – into something more playful. You will definitely come across his work during a trip to Amsterdam.
PHOTO ARIE DE LEEUW, THE NEW YORK TIMES
The artist Frank de Ruwe
Q: In the press, your street works are called “urban interventions”. What does this term mean to you?
A: I just want to make people smile with my work. A 6 year old child and a 90 year old person can smile at the same thing; it’s amazing to brighten someone’s day with just one item.
It’s so easy to be a little friendlier on the streets, and I think that’s what I’m doing. And if people want to call them “urban interventions,” that doesn’t bother me. It’s a bit of a buzzword, but people have been doing fun things to brighten up the streets for centuries, it’s always been a thing. I’m just one of those who does this too.
Q: When you leave your artwork on the street, is it legal?
A: No, it is illegal. I have a few rules to follow, because I really like Amsterdam. I don’t want to harm the city at all, which is why all the works I create can be removed quite easily without leaving any traces. I work a lot with magnets and fasteners – I probably own every type of double-sided tape in the world. Sometimes I don’t know how to build a part without using screws, kits or something. So it’s a great challenge to ensure that it remains safe and that people can remove it easily. But it’s still illegal.
Q: Do you know what happens to your works when they are removed?
PHOTO YVONNE MAK, THE NEW YORK TIMES
One of the creations of the artist Frank de Ruwe, aka Frankey
A: Sometimes the streets are just cleaned and the cleaner doesn’t even notice that there was a piece of art there in the first place. There is also a group of people who collect art to sell online, thinking that my work is worth money. But what I really like is that I’ve seen government vehicles with my artwork on their dashboard. So they removed it, but kept it as a trophy. But if people want to take it away or take it home, I don’t see any problem with that. I think everyone wins. Even if the work disappears.
Q: What is your method for placing your works on the street?
A: I always do it during the day. I wear one of those orange jackets with fluorescent stripes, to look like a guy who works for the municipality. When I’m doing a large piece and need space, I bring orange cones with me. This has been my method for 20 years and I always get by.
Q: I read that you had a fake license. Is it true ?
PHOTO JURRE ROMPA, THE NEW YORK TIMES
“It’s amazing to brighten someone’s day with just one item,” says Frank de Ruwe.
A: It’s just a piece of paper with a lot of stamps, which says: “I, Frank de Ruwe, authorize Street Art Frankey to place such and such…” But it looks a bit official to because of its presentation and because I always add a lot of appendices. An agent then finds himself in front of all these papers, all marked with a stamp, which also bears the words “Frankey Official”, and he says to himself: “If there is a stamp, it is because it is official. » It’s the same thing with the orange jacket.
Q: You have created many pieces. Which one is your favorite?
A: I am very proud of that of our former mayor for the Paradiso, the concert hall. The best musicians in the world have played there. It’s an old church, right in the city center, it’s a cultural temple. When I learned that this place wouldn’t remain a music venue forever, I thought it wasn’t possible! It is an integral part of Amsterdam. And our former mayor Eberhard van der Laan, who was so beloved, was also very attached to arts and culture.
So I made a little bronze sculpture of him, and he’s sitting at the top of Paradiso, holding the building and protecting it with a little smile. Every time I go there, I look up and say, “Yes, this is a good place, protect this building.” » I have a lot of works that I don’t look at when I walk past them. But I’m really proud of this one.
The remarks in this interview have been edited for brevity.
The original version of this article was published in the New York Times.
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