7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks)

In 1998 an oak tree was planted  in Victoria Gardens, directly outside Henry Moore Institute in the centre of Leeds. Passed by thousands of people every day, this tree, and the basalt marker placed alongside it, is in fact an artwork by German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-86).

This summer, our in-focus library display looks at the history of Beuys’ work 7000 Oaks. Items are drawn from our library collection, including exhibition catalogues, photographs and postcards designed by Beuys.

Joseph Beuys

After serving in Crimea during World War II, German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-86) claimed to have been rescued from a plane crash by nomadic Tatar tribesmen who nursed him back to health by wrapping him in pungent animal fats and tent felts. Using this semi-mythic narrative of artistic awakening, Beuys subsequently became absorbed by the restorative and sculptural qualities of such materials.

Beuys later developed the concept of ‘social sculpture’, focusing on universal art education, environmentalism and the nature of the multiple as an affordable and easily disseminated artwork. His focus became outward-looking – Beuys’ activism within conventional party politics was highly unusual for an artist and he was a key figure in the establishment of what was to become Germany’s Green Party.

7000 Oaks

In 1980, as part of Documenta 7 in Kassel, Beuys embarked on perhaps his most ambitious project, 7000 Oaks. The work consisted of the planting of 7000 oak trees around Kassel, each accompanied by a basalt marker. This example of carved stone and uncarved wood in unmediated form represented a poetic collision of the static with the constantly evolving.

In 1998, in accordance with Beuys’ ambition that 7000 oaks would eventually be planted in cities across the world, an oak tree and stone marker was planted outside Henry Moore Institute at the instigation of the Institute’s then Director, Robert Hopper. Art historian Claudia Mesch recently assessed the project through a contemporary lens:

“[… ] Beuys’ accumulation and transport of material for 7000 Oaks in 1982 and for years thereafter relied on an enormous expenditure of fossil fuel that disrupted the urban ecosystem of Kassel and to a lesser extent, other urban areas where it was installed, such as New York City.

“Yet the planting of so many trees in Kassel and elsewhere also had a positive environmental impact that increased over the years as the trees grew, mediating carbon dioxide levels and enriching the soil and the well-being of those that lived there.”