Inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s work, “Starry Night,” a new twinkling bike path evokes the color and light within the world-famous painting, while also connecting cultural sites important to the artist born there.
The opening of the cycle path in the Dutch city of Eindhoven November 12 marked the start of an international year of festivities focused on the inspiring career of van Gogh, which ended with his 1890 death.
Artist Daan Roosegaarde‘s poetic vision was brought to life by the construction company, Heijmans, which used innovative technology and thousands of twinkling stones to illuminate the route.
“I wanted to create a place that people will experience in a special way, the technical combined with experience, that’s what techno-poetry means to me,” said Roosegaarde.
The new starry path links two watermills that were featured in his paintings, and will complete a cycling route that connects Vincent’s family home in Brabant, with Nuenen, the place where his first masterpiece, The Potato Eaters, was created.
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The entire route in North Brabant, where the artist was born and raised, is 335 kilometers (208 miles) long and split into five individual round trips, which can each be cycled in a day.
The community of Eindhoven and partners have jointly invested €700,000 in the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path, with half coming in a subsidy from the province of Noord-Brabant.
The overall cultural program on the theme of 125 years of inspiration was spearheaded by Van Gogh Europe, comprised of the Van Gogh Museum, Kröller-Müller Museum, Van Gogh Brabant, Mons 2015, and others. Activities will span the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
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Roosegaarde and Heijmans Infrastructure also teamed up to create the Smart Highways Project which is developing interactive roads using light, energy and road signs that interact with the traffic situation.
(WATCH the cyclists on the starry path, below)
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