Floor decoration at the entrance

For the entrance to the Public Library on the Oude Boteringestraat, sculptor Aryaan Harshagen designed a bluestone, granite floor decoration called 'From A to Z' in 1992. This work is a good contemporary example of visual art entering into a relationship with the architecture: it emphasizes the elongated character of the courtyard leading to the entrance of the library and also refers to the function of the building.

In the two diamond-shaped figures at the beginning and end of the entrance street, the artist has placed two squares into which numerous letters have been carved. In the tile at the beginning, the letters are crisscrossed, as if they had fallen right out of a book. This part of the floor decoration was placed in front of the fence to attract the attention of passers-by; they invite them to walk further. In the tile at the end, the letters of the alphabet are neatly arranged, from A to Z. In this you could see the transition from chaos to order.

The diamond shapes are connected by two long, narrow bands that seem to glue the tilted squares together at the corners. Perpendicular to this, just before the entrance, two more bands run to the side of the entrance street, toward the wall. This is to further emphasize the connection with the architecture.

When the building on Oude Boteringestraat was converted to house the Faculty of Law, the artwork was temporarily relocated. Upon completion in 2023, it was placed back near the entrance.