Bruno Weber Park

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The Bruno Weber Park is a sculpture park in the Swiss communities Spreitenbach and Dietikon , designed as a total work of art by the Swiss artist Bruno Weber, who died in 2011 .

Location and origin

From 1962 Bruno Weber created the sculpture park in the vicinity of his former studio in the municipality of Spreitenbach in the canton of Aargau . He constantly expanded the park with new sculptures and buildings.

The sculpture park is the total work of art and life's work of the artist. After Bruno Weber had been in a dispute with the authorities in Dietikon and Spreitenbach since 1976 over the illegally built house and the figures in the forest, a peaceful coexistence emerged over time. Finally, in 1998, all of the buildings received general approval from the authorities. In the same year, Bruno Weber designed the access to the park to make it easier for visitors.

Operation of the park

As early as 1990, a sponsoring association was established with the Bruno Weber Foundation . The foundation was supposed to ensure the completion of the water garden as the heart of the park and long-term financing of the operation. After Weber's death, Mariann Weber-Godo and her twin daughters campaigned for the maintenance and continuation of her husband's life's work.

In May 2014, the Aargau government council did not approve any further operating contributions and “gave the artist's work a regional, but not necessarily a cantonal importance”. The art expert and former director of the Tinguely Museum , Guido Magnaguagno, assesses the sculpture garden as a “national monument” and sees Bruno Weber on the same level as Art Brut artists such as Louis Soutter or Adolf Wölfli . Necessary renovations could not be carried out, entry fees and donations were no longer sufficient. The operators hope for a renovation and continuation of the park, for which the support of patrons and donations is imperative. The Friends of Bruno Weber Park are dedicated to this goal .

The Board of Trustees had to be completely re-staffed twice within 2014 - two points are essentially controversial: The sculpture park is unique in terms of zoning , as it was classified as a special zone for artistic creation by the community in 1998 in agreement with Bruno Weber. Events related to art are allowed in this construction zone , but due to general legislation, uses that would make the business profitable are also excluded .

Water park house

The second legal problem concerns the usage agreement between the family and the club, as the plot on which the water garden hall was created has already been assigned to the Bruno Weber Foundation. In connection with this, donations awarded by the foundation are not allowed to flow into the Weber family's private box. The residential building with garden has so far been privately owned by Bruno Weber's family. This ownership structure led to discussions with the Board of Trustees, in particular about a user agreement between the family and the foundation that was not yet ready to be signed.

Continuation of the park

Despite the sustained large number of visitors, the Foundation had to announce the expected closure of the sculpture park in August 2014: “On October 19, 2014, the sculpture park by Swiss artist Bruno Weber will open its doors for the last time. The reason for this is the tense financial situation of the sponsor, the Bruno Weber Foundation. Against this background, the fulfillment of the foundation's purpose is endangered and the further operation of the park is no longer possible. "

“This could become something very special,” said Brigitte Bitterli at the opening of the water park. The lawyer had been appointed by the foundation supervision of the canton Aargau after the resignation of the sponsorship in February 2014 as interim board member, but had to arrange the announcement of the closure of the sculpture park in August 2014. She describes the result of her work so far as "terrifying"; Despite 20,000 visitors per year, the park is in serious deficit, needs to be renovated urgently, and the foundation has not made any provisions . The board of trustees announced to the media on September 28, 2014: “ The park should only have one owner, ” a solution that the board of trustees could not agree on. Maria-Anna Weber pointed out: " The part of the park that remains for me is my retirement provision and the inheritance of my two daughters, " and therefore she has been involved in the net income so far. In addition, this is the only way she can continue to influence the handling of her husband's artistic estate . If no agreement can be reached on the point of ownership, the foundation would be dissolved because it can no longer fulfill its purpose, the preservation of Bruno Weber's work. The water garden would be sold or given to the community. The establishment of a new board of trustees is not ruled out; then the company would have to be restarted in order to win back the trust of sponsors and patrons. Bitterli announced to the media that donors are already in sight .

In addition to an online petition , the previous media statement and extensive media coverage, various "rescue attempts" have been made: Cantonal Councilor Martin Christen ( SP ) has submitted two interpellations to the cantonal parliament and founded a committee to save the park, including Franz Hohler listened: On October 3, 2014, a petition by the committee with around 11,000 signatures for the preservation of the park was presented to the government council of the canton of Aargau. In addition, two reports were broadcast on Swiss television at the end of September , followed by a press release and extended opening times until mid-October due to media coverage. National Councilor Cédric Wermuth (SP) campaigned unsuccessfully for the park in the so-called Question Time of the Federal Council : The Federal Council recognized the artistic value of the work, but did not promise any money in the next few years. As long as the situation has not been resolved , the canton of Aargau will continue to provide no financial contribution, and there will be no further funds from patrons.

In spring 2015 the park was opened to the public again.

investment

The park extends over an area of ​​15,000 m² and has been expanded over the years by Bruno Weber and his wife on the grounds of Weber's parents to a fairytale castle adorned with columns, reliefs, heads and grimaces , that of heavy, colorful Mosaics decorated animal figures is populated. The centerpiece is the water garden, which was completed in 2012 and is surrounded by two wing dogs over 100 meters long, including a basement with a ballroom and office / studio of the Bruno Weber Foundation.

In May 2012, Aargau government councilor Roland Brogli called the inauguration of the water garden the culmination of a “work in progress” that once almost fell victim to official regulations: Because of the implementation of his visions in the Spreitenbach agricultural zone, they used to be called “crazy »Marginalized master builder Bruno Weber and the local building authorities got into trouble. Brogli subsequently asked for forbearance for the “collision of two worlds” .

literature

  • Hans-Ruedi Bramaz, ed. by Stefan Howald, designed by Helen Ebert. With contributions by Franz Hohler , Fritz Billeter, Peter K. Wehrli, Roman Hocke, Helene Arnet, Peter Conrad and a foreword by Christine Egerszegi-Obrist: Bruno Weber: Die Kraft der Phantasie. A life's work . Hirmer-Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-7774-2081-3 , p. 220 .
  • Peter K. Wehrli, photographs by Robert Elter: Bruno Weber - the architect of his dreams . Benteli, Salenstein 2002, ISBN 3-7165-1263-X , p. 96 .

Web links

Commons : Bruno Weber Sculpture Park  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Dorothee Vögeli: A counterworld in the middle of the agglomeration - Inauguration of the water garden in Bruno Weber's sculpture park in the Limmat Valley . Neue Zürcher Zeitung . May 30, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  2. a b Florian Niedermann: The debacle around the park could have been prevented . Aargauer Zeitung . September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  3. ^ Friends of the Bruno Weber Park . Official website of the Bruno Weber Park. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 9, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / brunoweberpark.ch
  4. a b c d Helene Arnet: Money alone is not enough to save the dream world . Day indicator . September 28, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  5. Press release of the foundation of August 22, 2014: The Bruno Weber Park in Spreitenbach is closing its doors ( Memento of the original of September 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bruno-weber.com
  6. a b Schweiz aktuell , broadcast on October 3, 2014 on SRF 1
  7. ^ Petition to save the Bruno Weber Park Spreitenbach . AVAAZ.org. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  8. 700 visitors in the reopened Bruno Weber Park , April 6, 2015

Coordinates: 47 ° 24 '17.8 "  N , 8 ° 22' 52.1"  E ; CH1903:  671141  /  two hundred fifty thousand eight hundred and eighty-five