This is the name of the participatory art action initiated by the Paderborn artist Manfred Webel. He sees a sculpture first and foremost as a social object that interacts with the viewer not just by looking at it but by touching it. Unlike a visit to a museum, his rolling works of art may and should be touched and moved. Thus, Manfred Webel makes art not only visible, but tangible for ALL on his tour through all of North Rhine-Westphalia.
We at ACCENTFORM were allowed to contribute to this wonderful action by producing a total of nine objects by Manfred Webel in different sizes. The movement sculptures with their own names “Quattroporte, Monami, Bubble and Chair” were first CNC milled from Styrofoam and then coated with fiberglass reinforced plastic using a laminating process. Some of the sculptureser Some of the sculptures received a monochrome red paint finish, while others were further finished by the artist himself.
The constructive cooperation with the sympathetic artist was a great pleasure for us!
Manfred Webel
rolling art
Artwork Monami
rolling art
movement sculpture
“I really enjoy working with Accentform, not only because they have a deep technical understanding and work in a very solution-oriented way, but also because they have a heart for new issues and innovations to be developed for them. I also like the old school of concluding contracts with a handshake and the absolute binding nature of verbally exchanged agreements”.
Manfred Webel
Pictures from the production:
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Our customer commissioned us to produce two popular advertising figures from GRP in XXL format for a new opening of his candy world in Oberhausen.
The figure “Dickie” of the Super Dickmann’s Foam Kisses in a height of approx. 1m with changing headgear should sweeten the entrance to the store. The children as well as adults should get big eyes at the 2.5m high laughing gum standing in the back. His big googly eyes move in a certain rhythm. However, until the eyes got big and the desire for sweets a few things had to be done.
The Dickie as well as the laughing rubber were carved out of Styrofoam. For a firmer and paintable surface, the styrofoam was covered with GRP. Dickie was thus ready for the “chocolate coating”. The special feature are the original Chucks in shoe size 56, but the white shoes still had to be colored in orange.
The laughing gum had to be stripped of the styrofoam after the coating to make room for the technology. After this and the finishing touches were completed, life could also be breathed into the laughing gum with the bright colors using the airbrush process. The separately laminated/painted eyes were then inserted on the axles in the eye sockets and wired to the technology inside and programmed with a Siemens logo at the desired rate.
ADVERTISING FIGURE MADE OF GFK – FLAMINGO, PINEAPPLE, COCONUT
Malibu is the world’s best-selling rum-based liqueur with natural taste of coconut. This popular drink is an ingredient of many cocktails. In combination with orange, passion fruit or pineapple juice, it creates many wonderful drinks with a dash of the Caribbean.
ACCENTFORM made giant pineapple and coconut fruit and funky flamingo Mali. These aesthetic objects are a real eye-catcher at any beach party and help create a casual and fun atmosphere.
The 2.5 m high flamingo was carved freehand from STYROPOR based on a photo template and then the surface was coated with a 2 mm thick GRP layer.
The outfit of the hip bird is completed by the blue glasses and colorful bathing slippers. The giant fruits – coconut and pineapple were modeled in CAD and then CNC-milled from Styrofoam.
The coconut was given a surface with a natural fiber look, while the pineapple enjoyed a fruity airbrush finish.
At the end of 2017, the new streaming series “Jean-Claude Van Johnson” started exclusively on AMAZON. For the worldwide film premiere on 12.12.2017 in Paris, we were commissioned by the event agency GRAL to create an oversized sculpture. The statue is to represent the famous action hero Jean Claude van Damme, who plays himself in the JCVJ series.
Part of the order was two columns including pedestal under the feet of the monumental figure. The columns were made of styrofoam and the pedestals were made of wooden panels and finished with marble look.
We first roughly milled the 2.7 m wide figure from Styrofoam. All details, such as facial features and muscle parts were modeled manually by the artist Waldemar Neumann according to photo templates. The Styrofoam surface was then given texture and gold patina. Our sculpture literally went down well in Paris, cut a fine figure next to the action hero at the premiere and even made it into the “Bild” newspaper.
Who doesn’t know her – The Mouse from the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, known from the “Sendung mit der Maus”?! On March 7, 2021, she will be an incredible 50 years old and still enjoys great popularity. She has accompanied us for several generations – without a word, but always with a loud wink. 😉
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of TheMouse and its laughing and factual stories, ACCENTFORM was commissioned by WDR to produce a big mouse figure. We scaled and adapted the 3D data provided by the customer. Based on these data, we milled and assembled the model in several segments using our 5-axis milling machines. This styrofoam figure was then encased in fiberglass using a hand-laminating process. The surface was sanded by hand and colored by airbrush according to exact customer specifications. A final, extremely matt clear varnish serves to protect the airbrush paint. To give the large mouse a stable hold, the finished sculpture was mounted on a round metal plate. A special highlight for us during the work was the visit of the WDR film team. The station accompanied part of the production and summarized it in a film report.
Pictures from the production:
WDR film shoot about the production of the mouse figure
This 5 m high figure, reminiscent of Scottish monster “Nessie”, was designed by one of the participating students as part of a competition at the Laborschule Bielefeld. The shrill sea serpent stands for individuality, surprise and creativity and convinced the vast majority of students and teachers at the Laborschule Bielefeld.
The design sketch served us as a template for the realization of this project. First, a 3D CAM drawing was created from the two-dimensional drawing by our CAD specialists. Based on the 3D model, we first milled the giant snake figure out of Styrofoam. Divided into several segments, this Styrofoam model was molded with fiberglass using the hand lay-up process. The individual elements were then joined to form a large, hollow GRP figure and additionally stiffened from the inside. After the plastic surface was filled, sanded and primed, the work of art was given a bright paint finish.
The figure, weighing about 500 kg (1,100 lbs), was secured with a wooden frame for transport. On site, it was placed in the middle of the traffic island by means of a crane and firmly mounted by our team on a prepared concrete foundation. Since then, this unique and eye-catching eye-catcher attracts the attention of motorists and passers-by and provides a moment of surprise for one or the other.
By order of 3D Culture we were allowed to produce an imposing, 4 meter high figure. First, individual body parts were milled from polystyrene using CNC machining centers.
Since the figure was later to be given an illuminated arm by the customer, cable ducts for the electrical installation had to be taken into account.
The milled individual parts were glued together and the surface was given an initial sealant. Thus, the giant was ready to be sheathed in FRP. After the finishing work on the surface, it was painted uniformly in white according to the customer’s wishes.
The impressive giant then cut an undoubtedly fine figure at the trade show for five days.
Faszinierende Illusion – ein Blickfang für die Besucher
The principal of the “floating faucet” is based on an optical illusion. In a transparent tube, water is pumped into the faucet. The water flows and then, falls back down on the outside of the clear tube. Because the transparent tube with the water intake cannot be reflected in the “waterfall”, the impression is created that the water comes out of nowhere.
The floating faucet is an eye catcher for waterworks and gas- and water installation companies. The coated item costs 6800€ plus value-added tax (VAT).
For the building material dealer, MeckRohr, we designed by means of CAD, an oversized fibreglass outlet valve, made of hard foam and covered with 2 mm thick fibreglass laminate. Subsequently, the outlet valve was finished with an acrylic varnish.
Den schwebenden Wasserhahn können wir in folgenden Ausführungen anbieten:
Wasserhahn “MODERN” für einen Messestand, im Auftrag von Firma Scarso:
Wasserhahn “ANTIKE” für den Baustoffhändler MeckRohr:
Gigantic Bear for the Cruise Liner „Quantum of the Seas”
When in autumn 2014 the biggest cruise liner that has ever been built in Germany departs on it’s grand tour it will take along a huge sculpture, produced by ACCENTFORM: Visible from far and wide a 10.5m high pink polarbear with a stylish facet appearance is enthroned on the starboardside of the white ocean liner „Quantum of the Seas“.
Already when the ship undocked from the hall of Meyer Shipyard the bear appeared as a real eye-catcher and became the publics favourite detail on the giant.
The fibreglass figure, handcrafted in a complex laminate method, was designed by the artist Lawrence Argent and gives a first impression of the precious 2,980 pieces art collection on board the newly constructed ship. This artwork is themed “What makes life worth living”.
The bear, with the title „From Afar“, has a facetted surfaced containing 1,340 triangled subareas and is supposed to encourage people not just to regard him but to touch him as well.
“The special thing about cruises is, that they haul people out of the normality of their everyday life to provide them new experience. This bear is supposed to attract all those who think they don’t know what art means and give them an accessible overall picture.”, the artist says
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ACCENTFORM had to keep client, purpose and destination point of the figure a secret until the headline-grabbing undocking of the Ship, because the costumer Royal Caribbean International didn’t want to reveal the artwork aboard before the ship left the roofed construction dock. That way RCI pulled off a surprise coup with the publicly promoted undocking, because on each visualizations and press material the bear wasn’t to be found.
Even though the 10.5 m high bear integrates harmonically into the image of the resounding luxury liner, yet on land the figure appears much more enormous. So in June 2014, the residents of Nienstädt were astonished when the giant pink fibreglass bear hovered in slow-motion through the industrial area of their little town. After being loaded by crane onto a heavy goods vehicle the figure was transported along the especially barred national highway to the harbor of Rusbend, wherefrom the bear was shipped on a barge to Meyer Dockyards, to be installed on the newly built cruise liner.
Several month ACCENTFORM was working on the completion of the pink giant. The figure became 10.5 m high, about 6 m wide and consists of weather-resistant glass fibre reinforced laminate multilayer which was produced from a especially manufactured rigid foam mould.
To stabilize the approximately 3 t heavy GRP-cover the local weldings shop “STAMA” created a nearly 5 t heavy multi-section steel frame in accordance with the specifications of Accentform’s engineers.
The characteristic colour for the noble seasalt-and weather-proof finish was generated with the collaboration of Rupf & Co. AG, based on a semiglossy PU lacquer that was after all airbrushed onto the bear.
As a light and resilient high-performance material the used GRP is superior to any other materials: Light weight and high flexibility keep the bear safely in shape and position against all kinds of temperature changes, high wind force and motion of the sea. It is also andvantagous in logistic: In spite of the enormous dimension and the associated road barriers, the transport to the yard could be handled with conventional truck-mounted cranes and a low-loading truck.
Among the latest environmental technologies and improved power efficiency the “Quantum of the Seas” will mainly score with exciting entertainment novelties:
The “North Star”, a lookout gondola in 90 m height, based on the London Eye, will be absolutely unique.
The “Two70°” is a huge area at the rear end of the ship, which will be used as a lounge with bar and dancefloor during the day and turned into a show-stage in the evening. The name stands for “270 degrees” and refers to the panorama view through the extensively glazed façade which acts as a projection screen for the shows at night.
The “Seaplex”, a multifunction room where passengers can pass time driving bumper cars or playing basketball.
The simulator “RipCord by iFly” who can give the passengers the feeling of a real drop.
This innovative engineering marvel will leave New York heading with 22 knots via Bermuda to the Carribean Islands – aboard 4,100 passengers and a huge pink bear, which was built by ACCENTFORM.
After the great success of „Felicia Bear“ on the “Quantum of the Seas”, the new cruise liner of Royal Caribbean International, the “Anthem of the Seas”, also got a huge figure manufactured by ACCENTFORM.
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The Giraffe was designed by the French Artist Jean-François Fourtou after the shipping company’s visions. ACCENTFORM worked alongside with the constructers of Martin/Martin again to make this idea become reality.
“Gigi”, how the yard workers called the giraffe, is about 9 m high and nearly 3500 kg heavy. The filigree figure obtains the necessary stability from the combination of a weatherproof carbonfibre-cladding and a steel-skeleton made from special marine-suited stainless steel.
The major challenge of this project was the extremely short processing time. There were only eight weeks remaining to perform prodigies!
The initial step at ACCENTFORM was to mill a specific production mould from Styrofoam by the use of CNC-technology. In the meantime the welding shop STAMA was busy producing the steel skeleton, exclusively made from seawater-resistant premium steel.
The production moulds were used for a carbonfibre-laminate which was done by hand. Many pieces of different sizes were build this way and finally assembled around the steel frame construction. Some wooden stiffener plates discharge the wind loads from the cladding onto the steel. This construction mainly consists of steel tubes with a diameter of 140 mm and a wall-thickness of 12 mm and has a weight of 2000 kg.
The skeleton is an essential accessory because of the characteristic frequency of the ship. It prevents the figure from swaying.
For the perfect finishing touch a 10m high scaffolding had to be build, where the refining, filling and paintwork could take place. The colours for the paintwork where again produced by Rupf & Co, as they have stood the test of time on the bear figure.
A special Airbrush-Artist with long-term experience in colouration of large-sized animals was specifically taken on for the paintwork.
After all the production steps were done and the giraffe was finally coloured as Jean-François Fourtou imagined, she was laid down on a flat truck and transported to Bremerhaven. Therefor an accompanied transport and some road blockages were necessary.
The lifting at the harbour and the assembling on the ship went very well with all the help from the workers of the Meyer Werft. So in the end ACCENTFORM produced Gigi at a record time and made it possible that the ship arrives at his baptism in Southampton with his figurehead.
Please touch!
Please touch!
