Dia installed five basalt stone columns, each paired with a tree,
at 548 West 22nd Street in 1988, continuing the sculpture project
7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks) by German artist Joseph
Beuys. Five different varieties of trees
were planted: gingko, linden, bradford pear, sycamore, and oak. In 1996 Dia extended this project by planting 18 new trees, each paired with a basalt stone, on 22nd Street from 10th to 11th avenues, adding Pin Oak, Red Oak, Elm Honey Locust, Gingko and Linden.
Beuys's project 7000 Oaks was begun in 1982 at Documenta
7, the large international art exhibition in Kassel, Germany. His plan
called for the planting of seven thousand trees, each paired with
a columnar basalt stone approximately four feet high above ground,
throughout the greater city of Kassel. With major support from
the Dia Art Foundation, the project was carried
forward under the auspices of the Free International University
(FIU) and took five years to complete, the last tree having been
planted at the opening of Documenta 8 in 1987.
Beuys intended the Kassel project to be the first stage in an ongoing scheme of tree planting to be
extended throughout the world as part of a global mission to effect environmental and social
change; locally, the action was a gesture towards urban renewal.
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