Art in the Worms City Woods

In-tree-guing Art

Strolling around the Wäldchen, the woods in the south of the city, you will encounter giant stakes, a 15ft tall pick-up stick, and a cry for love, and a number of several other pieces of art. Made of 12 spruces’ residues, these objects rise to the sky just before the Äschebuckel—the mound at the head of the large central meadow. Beforehand, the diseased trees had been cut down to 12ft. The idea to use the spruces as ‘raw material’ for works of art instead of felling them altogether came from Marc Bellefroid, the city’s chief tree inspector. He initiated the 2009 sculptors’ challenge on 15 and 16 May, which resulted in eight artists creating a variety of highly individual pieces of art.

In the future, the sculptures are to be replaced by young fresh trees. Until those are large enough—thus in some three years—, the sculptures are ‘on display’.

Want to see a picture gallery?.

Participants of the 2009 sculptors’ challenge:

• Dieter Fischer
• Jochen Diehm
• Johannes Vögele
• William Schanzer
• Michael Mahla
• Marc Bellefroid
• Rainer Windecker
• Peter Neumann

The sculptors’ challenge is a project of the Schauraum art gallery and the free arts and cultural scene.