blue heaven

Noblesse Oblige

In the work of Piet(er) Stockmans, “Defunctionalized Coffee Pots” from 1976 and 1978 plays a key role. On first acquaintance, in the early 1990s, I thought I recognized all sorts of things in it. Then the associations and interpretations apparently clouded my view. Because now that I look at the coffee pots again, I see how they establish a meaningful relationship between two great artist-designers. In 1976, Stockmans had been working at Royal Mosa for ten years. In the first two years he was still dealing with Edmond Bellefroid. This artist-designer was aesthetic consultant and industrial designer at Mosa from 1950 to 1968. When Bellefroid became acquainted with director Louis Regout, he said, “If I could design a simple cup that would give pleasure to several thousand people, I will feel very happy. The servility of these words somewhat contradicted his dominant character. Moreover, his aesthetic sense stood in the way of the simplification required by industrial mass production. Only with Stockmans' successful “Sonja” cup did Mosa get the “simple cup” to which Bellefroid had alluded. Be that as it may, a long career took Bellefroid from traditional craft to modern industrial design, with the former continuing to recognizably influence the latter.

Stockmans uses two models for 'Defunctionalized Coffee Pots': one from Bellefroid's 'Noblesse' service and the other from the new 'Diana' service he designed himself. The deformations of the elegant 'Noblesse' jug occur as improvisations. He crumples the jug, compresses the spout or makes three ragged holes at the level of the handle with his fingers. The deformations of the spherical 'Diana' jug are planned interventions around lid, spout and handle. The original form always remains recognizable; the variations make a thoughtful impression. Two years later, a second series emerges in which the roles are reversed. Stockmans then plays a delicate game with the spout and handle of the 'Noblesse' jug, while the transformation of the 'Diana' jug has almost something cruel.

The 1957 “Noblesse” dinner service is an undisputed highlight of Edmond Bellefroid's work. The catalog of the exhibition Holland in vorm (1987) says: 'The stretched forms of coffee pot, jug and cup with the barge-shaped sugar bowl, which is among the finest industrial products of the Netherlands, touch the boundaries of functional design.' Stockmans also appears to be an admirer of the dinner service. In the same period as “Functionalized Coffee Pots,” he creates the monumental work “Shelf with Plates and Coffee Pot. Within the dark frame of a shelf, the 'Noblesse' jug stands on a tall stack of plates. The jug breaks through the top shelf: the spout protrudes through it, while the lid is framed by an elevation. The work has a sacred allure: the coffee jug shows itself as a trophy or relic. Four years later, Stockmans again refers to the “Noblesse” service with his “Tête-à-tête” service. The kinship between the two coffee pots is unmistakable: the slender silhouette, the handle and the Stockmans blue top rim reflecting the thin shadow rim.

Stockmans, in “Functionalized Coffee Pots,” juxtaposes the traditional “Noblesse” jug with the modern “Diana” jug, and an emotional versus a rational mode of operation. In this scheme of models and ways of working, he tries the four variants, ostensibly to examine his own position and develop his sense of direction. Gradually, the distinct roles of Pieter and Piet thus emerge, as personifications of “the masterly dilemma” of art and industry. At the same time, the series marks the moment when Stockmans 'overpowers' Bellefoid's coffee pot, as it were, by deforming it with his own hands. The physicality of that act suggests both his intimate attachment to Bellefoid and the need to detach himself from him. Beyond 'the limits of the functional,' Stockmans unfolds into the tireless artist-designer who shares with us his quest for the essence of things.

Dingeman Kuilman, Director Stedelijk Museum Breda