Tom Claassen, 'Little man with loose limbs', 2003

Tom Claassen, Little man with loose limbs, 2003
Center of The Hague: Spui - Grote Marktstraat - Kalvermarkt

Like a limp puppet, 'Man with loose limbs' by sculptor Tom Claassen (1964) hangs on a stick.Dangling defenselessly above his pedestal in the center of The Hague.The arms and legs are attached with bolts that make it look like they can move.The figure is made of tree trunks cast in bronze.The pedestal sculpture belongs to a series of sculptures created between 2000 and 2005. Like Little Man, the other figures in the series have loose limbs and are composed of six cylindrical elements. The puppets are made of wood logs and Styrofoam. For example Hanging Men, an intriguing group of Styrofoam member puppets, sitting against the wall or hanging from the ceiling.They appear to be will-less puppets, appearing simultaneously funny and sad.

The pedestal sculpture also evokes this association. But there are other possible meanings. For example, Mannetje can also be seen as an orphan doll, faceless, numb and empty. Claassen manages to tap into different layers of meaning by using forms and materials that contrast with the subject. In doing so, he also creates confusion. Should we laugh or cry at Little Man? And how should we interpret Claassen's latex camping lockers, which look like they are made of dried skin. They make one feel uncomfortable.

Also strange and surprising is his rubber hippopotamus in a lock on IJburg. Claassen's art is unusual, but always recognizable. In doing so, he is in line with a trend that brought representation back into sculpture in the 1980s.Moreover, sculptors became increasingly interested in the surface of a sculpture. This, too, we see in Claassen's work.He sanded the skin of his snow-white, plaster cars from 1994 silky smooth. It is almost irresistible, yet touching is not allowed. “Feeling with the eyes” is. And with Claassen, that's enough.