“A tree is an element of regeneration” Joseph Beuys once said. Here, we stand before 7000 Eichen. It is a profound work of land art in Kassel. The artist behind it is the German sculptor Joseph Beuys.
7000 Eichen translates to 7000 Oaks. This project started in 1982. Beuys planted 7,000 oak trees. He did this over five years in Kassel, Germany. Each tree has an accompanying basalt stone.
These black stones were piled outside the Fridericianum museum. They were removed as each tree was planted. The project aimed to alter the city’s living space. It was a large-scale artistic and ecological intervention.
At first, it was controversial. Now, it is an important part of Kassel’s cityscape. Raising money was difficult. The project also had opponents. The conservative state government criticized it. Some thought the black stone markers were ugly.
In 1982, some people piled pink stones on the sites as a prank. A motorcyclist even died because of a stone marker. But as more trees were planted people grew tolerant. They stopped seeing it as a parking lot destroyer.
Beuys saw the oak as a symbol for our planet. He linked it to the Druids. They used oaks to define their holy places. He envisioned a similar use for the future. Planting these trees was just a symbolic beginning.
Each tree needed a marker. In this case, it was a basalt column. The project had broader goals. It aimed to extend tree planting globally. It sought to raise awareness of human dependence on the ecosystem. It also promoted social change through creative will. This is social sculpture.
Beuys wanted to provoke people. He wanted to awaken them. He wanted them to recognize a new concept of beauty. This beauty extends beyond instant gratification.
The project moved from tradition. It embraced openness. Beuys’ son, Wenzel, completed it in 1987. This was on the first anniversary of his father’s death. The city still maintains the project.
7000 Eichen links art, education, and environmental issues. The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture developed a Joseph Beuys Sculpture Park. They planted over 350 trees in Baltimore parks. Over 500 volunteers helped including children.
The project was based on Beuys’ philosophy. Everyone can be an artist. It recognized the creativity in volunteers planting trees. The goal was to extend the art gallery into the city.
The Dia Art Foundation maintains 37 trees paired with stones in New York City. They consider this installation of 7000 Oaks one of their managed sites.
In 2007, artists Ackroyd & Harvey collected acorns from the original oaks. 100 trees grown from these acorns were exhibited at Tate Modern in London in 2021.
Between 1982 and 1987, Beuys and volunteers planted these 7,000 oak trees. Each tree was flanked by a stone. This provided nourishment for the soil. The project’s subtitle was “City Forestation Instead of City Administration.”
The final tree was planted at the opening of Documenta 8 in 1987. Since then, it has inspired similar works worldwide. In 1988, the Dia Art Foundation extended the project to New York City. They planted five trees along 548 West 22nd Street. They installed the same basalt stone markers next to each tree.
Beuys died in 1986. He died a year before oak tree number 7,000 was planted. His legacy continues to inspire environmental and social change. Beuys made explicit the connection between biology and geology. Basalt is a volcanic rock. Beuys sourced 7,000 basalt columns from a quarry near Kassel. He piled them in front of the Fridericianum.
As each tree was planted the pile decreased. As the trees grew, the relative size of each basalt column decreased. The trees and stones were related through dynamic relations of inverse proportion in public space. The Tate Modern show attempts to reunite the oak trees and the basalt.