Swiss artist Klaus Littman planted 300 trees in Wörthersee, a football stadium in the town of Klagenfurt, Austria. Thought to be the largest art installation in the country, it opened to the public on September 8^th. The installation is open to visitation through October 27^th and admission is free. The goal is to draw attention to the dangers of deforestation and climate change.

On his website, the artist explains why he moved the forest from its natural environment to a stadium. The project warns about the risk that one day there may be such few trees that we would need to go to a “zoo” to see them. The idea came from the 1971 drawing by Austrian architect Max Peintner, “The Unending Attraction of Nature”, which presents this kind of scenario.

By circulating through 30 thousand seats in the stadium, the audience can see the work that took 22 days to be ready from many different perspectives.  The trees, which can weigh as much as six tonnes (the same as an African bush or African savanna elephant), come from Germany, Belgium, and Italy and include species from Central Europe such as the oak.

Once the exhibition is over, the trees will be replanted in a place close to the stadium so they may continue to grow and be visited by others.

What is an art installation?

Unlike a painting, an art installation is not just put up so it can be looked at. It creates an environment that the audience can observe and also interact with. Often, it remains on view for a set period of time before it is taken down. This kind of art started appearing in the 1960s and is typical of contemporary art, that is, art that is produced in present times.

Questions

1) Why did the artist place the forest in the stadium?

a) To bring more humidity to Austria
b) To reforest a deforested area in Austria
c) To allow trees to travel the world
d) To make people think about the dangers of deforestation

2) What news about deforestation have you heard recently?

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