For Forest

"For Forest", the forest in the stadium

Art project "For Forest" in the Wörthersee Stadium

"For Forest" in the Wörtherseestadion Klagenfurt

For Forest was an art project by the installation artist Klaus Littmann , which was opened to the public on September 8, 2019 in Klagenfurt . 299 trees around 14 meters high were placed on the pitch in the Wörthersee Stadium in summer, which could be viewed free of charge until October 27, 2019. This project has also received international attention. This installation was inspired by the drawing The Unbroken Attraction of Nature by Max Peintner from 1970/71. The one hundred thousandth visitor was welcomed on October 1, 2019, with a total of almost two hundred thousand people visiting the art installation.

Goal of the art project

According to the project Littmann, the monumental installation aims to challenge the human perception of nature and sharpen the view of the future of the human-nature relationship. The project also sees itself as a memorial to the fact that one day the self- evident nature of nature could only be marveled at in specially assigned vessels, as is already the case with animals in the zoo .

Planning and preparation

Trees in the stadium, top view

Trees in the stadium, bottom view

The planning for the implementation of the For Forest project, with which the Swiss landscape architect Enzo Enea was commissioned, began as early as 2017 when the contract between Littmann and the sports park company was signed. The trees were brought to Klagenfurt from Northern Italy, (Bologna), Germany and Belgium in the spring and stored in the immediate vicinity of the stadium, on the grounds of the Lakeside Park Klagenfurt, before they were finally installed in the stadium.

criticism

Since this art installation should also be understood as a memorial for climate change, politicians of the FPÖ expressed criticism about the transport routes of the trees and because the stadium is blocked for the Carinthian Bundesliga club WAC , which will play in the Europa League in autumn . The trees were originally supposed to come from Austrian tree nurseries, but were not available there and were ultimately delivered from Italy (Bologna), Belgium and Germany.

Even before the end of the event, an advertising value of 13 million euros was calculated. The installation was mentioned in 3,600 articles from September 1st to October 7th in the media as well as on social platforms worldwide. Leonardo DiCaprio , among others, mentioned the art project.

Accompanying events

In addition to several other events, the project was accompanied by an exhibition on the subject of forests in the Museum of Modern Art Carinthia ( MMKK for short ). The city gallery is launching a corresponding exhibition called Touch Wood .

The cinema program as part of For Forest in the Cinecity and in the Wulfenia Kino in Klagenfurt with the focus on "Environment and Nature" was adapted from September 9 to October 27, 2019: feature films such as The Secret of Trees by Oscar winner Luc Jacquet or Fitzcarraldo , a film by Wener Herzog and the film Der Plastic Planet by Werner Boote will be shown. Likewise, The Green Wonder - our forest and another work by Jan Haft , The Meadow - a paradise next door . The film Our seeds - we reap what we sow is a film by Taggar Siegel and Jon Betz . The writer Peter Handke is for a documentary on the subject of Bin in the forest; it may be that I was late for the camera. It is a documentation about the perception of reality and its transformation into art; about the art of invention - and last but not least about the big, indispensable questions: “What is now”, “How should one live”.

The Klagenfurt Art Association is Part of For Forest with the exhibition Kambium - Art Must Grow and offers an art education program for children, young people and adults.