Around 10 am this morning the cows were taken to the park with a tractor. The artwork was designed by the Antwerp art collective Captain Boomer. The artwork was previously in Paris and London, among others.
“On the one hand we want to show an old painting scene, namely cows in a meadow. But on the other hand we want people to stand still at how we are looking at animals and agriculture right now,” says artist Bart van Peel.
The cows are there until Saturday. They are taken to the park every morning and in the evening they go back to their own farm in Gein to be milked there. “It seems to me really an outing for them,” laughs a passer -by.
Despite criticism, animals
But there is also criticism. Within the district committee, a motion of SP that called for the use of living animals in these types of projects in the future was no longer adopted last week. According to the SP, the art project causes stress in the animals. However, it had few consequences for this artwork, because the permit had already been granted. On Friday, September 12, there will be one in Pakhuis de Zwijger debate evening Organized about the artwork.
Most people who came to visit today in the Oosterpark could appreciate the artwork. “I took the bus and the metro to be here. I wanted to see it. In Amsterdam you normally only see pets, so nice to see this in the middle of the city,” says a woman.