Stories from the air

Construction cranes belong in the skyline. They depict the progress of a city and without temporary steel towers with cables and pulleys, a city isn’t developing.

The crane driver has a privileged position, he has a tower with its own private cabin high above the bustle of the city. Graceful he swings the boom over the building construction, the pulley rolls securely back and forth horizontally on the horizontal boom and with the upmost concentration the hook will be put in the right place. As a small boy the construction crane was the showpiece of the toy collection and the needed actions could be practiced at a very early age. It is but a small group of boys who can practise with the real stuff later on in life.

To my knowledge there is only one crane driver whe know a little more. Leendert Huijzer aka Lee Towers introduced by William Duys as the singing crane driver. Lee found in fact inspiration in the sky for his name and his songs. But in general crane drivers are anonymous men that we could barely see on the ground, unlike them who can see us. High above the city and in silence must be a good place for contemplation. The short documentary City of Cranes by Eva Webber shows well what the Guild of crane drivers are doing while at work.

Modern tower cranes can now also be operated from the ground. The driver regardless steers the crane with a remote control. The crane operators are back to square one. The construction equipment is again being reduced to a toy. The crafts, view and hence the understanding, disappear. This modern way of working should be banned. To climb up high above the city lead to good stories and reflections on the human race.




City of Cranes (Eva Webber, 2008) was screened at AFFR2009.