Joseph Beuys, STADTVERWALDUNG STATT STADTVERWALTUNG, documenta 7, Kassel, 1982
Duration: 1982–1986, between documenta 7 and 8
Dimensions: 10.1 x 15.1 cm
Further Information: Stadtverwaldung statt Stadtverwaltung (city forestation instead of city council), also often referred to as the 7000 Oaks project, was Joseph Beuys’ contribution to documenta 7 in 1982. He proposed planting 7000 oaks in the city of Kassel over a period of four years, until the next documenta. A stone was embedded next to every tree, in order to make visible all the new trees. Art, in Beuys view, was complete if it merges with nature—if there is no difference between art and reality, or if art can participate in political and environmental debates. This is what he imaged as a “social plastic”—when everything, even relations, become works of art. Although 7000 Oaks received international recognition and was meant as a gift to the inhabitants of Kassel, many of the local citizens were unhappy with the environment and vandalized, replanted, or removed trees and stones over the years. In 1996, fourteen years after the first tree was planted, a report showed that more than 200 trees and more than 300 stones were missing. You can see further reactions and reviews in the box to the right.
ALW
Further Links: The 7000 Oaks Foundation provides a chronology, further material, and images of the project, as well as still directs its development. Their website can be visited via www.7000eichen.de
Images: Images of the invitation and all other archival documents shown on this page, apart from the videos, are part of the online collection of Archiv der Avantgarden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
