Joesph Beuys

Both photos copyright: Dieter Schwerdtle Fotografie. The bottom photo shows Beuys planting the fist of the 7000 oaks in front of the Fridericianum in Kassell, 1982

Joseph Beuys: 7000 Oaks

Joseph Beuys, 7000 Oaks. West 22nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues in New York City.

7000 Oaks by Lynne Cooke with statements by Joseph Beuys

I believe that planting these oaks is necessary not only in biospheric terms, that is to say, in the context of matter and ecology, but in that it will raise ecological consciousness-raise it increasingly, in the course of the years to come, because we shall never stop planting.1

Thus, 7000 Oaks is a sculpture referring to peoples' life, to their everyday work. That is my concept of art which I call the extended concept or art of the social sculpture.2

I wish to go more and more outside to be among the problems of nature and problems of human beings in their working places. This will be a regenerative activity; it will be a therapy for all of the problems we are standing before.... I wished to go completely outside and to make a symbolic start for my enterprise of regenerating the life of humankind within the body of society and to prepare a positive future in this context.

I think the tree is an element of regeneration which in itself is a concept of time. The oak is especially so because it is a slowly growing tree with a kind of really solid heartwood. It has always been a form of sculpture, a symbol for this planet.3

The planting of seven thousand oak trees is thus only a symbolic beginning. And such a symbolic beginning requires a marker, in this instance a basalt column. The intention of such a tree-planting event is to point up the transformation of all of life, of society, and of the whole ecological system...4

They are basalt columns that one can find in the craters of extinct volcanoes, where they become a prismatic, quasi-crystalline shape through a particular cooling process-which produces these shapes with five, six, seven, and eight corners. They could, and still can, be found lined up like perfect, beautiful organ pipes in the Eifel region. Today, most of them are protected. But we didn't have to have these particular splendid organ pipes, we just wanted a material with basalt characteristics from the environs of Kassel. So there we found basalt columns which are part crystalline, that is to say, they have sharp corners, but at the same time tend toward amorphousness. 5

My point with these seven thousand trees was that each would be a monument, consisting of a living part, the live tree, changing all the time, and a crystalline mass, maintaining its shape, size, and weight. This stone can be transformed only by taking from it, when a piece splinters off, say, never by growing. By placing these two objects side by side, the proportionality of the monument's two parts will never be the same.

So now we have six- and seven-year-old oaks, and the stone dominates them. In a few years' time, stone and tree will be in balance, and in twenty to thirty years' time we may see that gradually, the stone has become an adjunct at the foot of the oak or whatever tree it may be.6

Overview

Dia installed five basalt stone columns, each paired with a tree, at 548 West 22nd Street in 1988, continuing the sculpture project 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks) by German artist Joseph Beuys. Five different varieties of trees were planted: gingko, linden, bradford pear, sycamore, and oak. In 1996 Dia extended this project by planting 18 new trees, each paired with a basalt stone, on 22nd Street from 10th to 11th avenues, adding Pin Oak, Red Oak, Elm Honey Locust, Gingko and Linden.

Beuys's project 7000 Oaks was begun in 1982 at Documenta 7, the large international art exhibition in Kassel, Germany. His plan called for the planting of seven thousand trees, each paired with a columnar basalt stone approximately four feet high above ground, throughout the greater city of Kassel. With major support from Dia Art Foundation, the project was carried forward under the auspices of the Free International University (FIU) and took five years to complete, the last tree having been planted at the opening of Documenta 8 in 1987. Beuys intended the Kassel project to be the first stage in an ongoing scheme of tree planting to be extended throughout the world as part of a global mission to effect environmental and social change; locally, the action was a gesture towards urban renewal.

Walker Art Center's Tree-Planting Project

Beuys envisioned projects occurring throughout the world inspired by his 7000 Oaks. In conjunction with the Walker Art Center's exhibition of Beuys' multiples from the permanent collection, the Walker has undertaken a tree-planting project in the spirit of 7000 Oaks.

The Walker's three-part tree-planting project is being coordinated by independent curator Todd Bockley with support from the Visual Arts Department, as well as the Education Department's Teen Programs and Community Programs.

Part I: Cass Lake

In Cass Lake, a reservation town in Northern Minnesota, 1,031 seedlings were planted representing approximately one tree per resident. Although the planting itself took place over a one-week period in late May 1997, Bockley made frequent trips north over a five-month period prior to the actual planting to assure that the project "grew" in a way that was determined by the needs and personality of the community itself. Through direct one-on-one interaction with a number of residents of all ages, presentations to community groups, the distribution of fliers, and two front-page articles in the local newspaper, the word spread as quickly as did enthusiasm for participation in this activity. In this way, residents themselves determined where the trees were sited -- on their own property as well as on public land -- and were actively involved in the planting as well. One of the many events that can be pointed to as a sign of the success of this portion of the project is the tree-planting ceremony at the Cass Lake Elementary School that was integrated into the community-organized, week long "Community Wellness Gathering." At this same elementary school, a small tree farm was established with a number of the seedlings outside the science teacher's classroom. Students for years to come will participate in caring for these trees. There are plans for continued contact with the residents of Cass Lake as well: The Bugonaygeshik School has become an Explore Member site. A catalogue from the exhibition Joseph Beuys Multiples was donated to the Tribal College's library upon publication. A bus was offered for residents to come to Minneapolis for October's Free First Saturday (see Part III below) and thus see the exhibition as well. A bus was also offered for participants to join the Information Office discussion scheduled for October 30 to discuss "Tree-Planting as Social Sculpture." If funds become available, David Levi Strauss, one of the speakers scheduled in conjunction with the exhibition, will travel north to present his lecture and discuss Beuys' relationship to America, including Native American traditions, with members of the community. top

Part II: St. Paul Central High School Bockley and other members of the staff worked with teacher Maxine Smith and her students throughout September to discuss Beuys' ideas, coordinate the planting of trees in the neighborhood, and plan for the continued care of those trees. The class is an interdisciplinary one in which photography is being used to teach math and reading skills. top

Part III: Minneapolis Sculpture Garden For this, the third and final part of the Walker's tree-planting project, a single symbolic tree with basalt stele was planted in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Members of the Walker's Teen Arts Council were involved in the planning and actualization of the planting with Bockley and Walker staff. The planting itself will took place on October 4 as part of Walker's Free First Saturday program. As stated above, residents from Cass Lake were encouraged to attend. Students from St. Paul Central High School also received a special invitation to this event. In addition, all attendees at Free First Saturday were invited as this event had the potential to become an extended community gathering.