Cucumbers (Salzburg)

Cucumbers

Gurken is a work of art consisting of five individual sculptures in the Furtwängler Park in the old town of Salzburg . It was created in 2011 by the Austrian artist Erwin Wurm as part of the “ Art Project Salzburg ” .

The artwork

The tenth work for the “Art Project Salzburg” consists of five sculptures about two meters high, which symbolize cucumbers standing on top . Erwin Wurm had already staged a “self-portrait as a pickled gherkin” in 2010 at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg . For the Salzburg art project, he again chose the cucumber as the motif, turning a banal everyday object into an art object. For Wurm, people in their uniqueness were an important point of reference. “The fascination with the variety of forms that cannot be exhausted because none of the others are the same - that has something,” says the artist. This individuality, but also unity, he shows in his work using the cucumbers: "Each cucumber is individually different, but immediately recognizable as a cucumber and can be assigned to a whole ... similar to humans." Both with humans and with a cucumber the shapes are different: big or small, thick or thin, rough or smooth and narrow or stocky. Wurm enlarged the cucumbers to human size, apparently growing them straight out of the asphalt floor. Thereby he stages them as being of individual worth. Erwin Wurm leaves the interpretation of the work of art open - it lies between critical irony and a humorous wink.

Erwin Wurm is known as a master of subtle, bizarre humor. In addition to “Gurken”, he has already carried out a number of other actions and projects in public spaces, such as the upturned single-family house on the roof of the MUMOK in Vienna in 2006 . By exploring the medium of sculpture to its limits, he has firmly established himself in the international art scene. Everyday objects such as cars, houses or even cucumbers find a place in his works and often represent a comparison to humans. Erwin Wurm repeatedly brings social developments up for discussion by questioning the concept of sculpture. With the artist, all objects can become art and thus elicit new levels of meaning, including the Salzburg “gherkins”.

background

This work of art can be traced back to an initiative of the Salzburg Foundation. This was founded in 2001 as a private initiative and sees itself as a modern form of patronage. This project, which does not receive any public subsidies, aims to inspire international artists for the city of Salzburg and to encourage them to create a specific work of art for a location of their choice. The invitation was followed by artists such as Manfred Wakolbinger , Anselm Kiefer , Mario Merz , Marina Abramović , Markus Lüpertz , James Turrell , Stephan Balkenhol , Christian Boltanski , Jaume Plensa , Brigitte Kowanz , Tony Cragg and Erwin Wurm. This project was financed by the Würth Group . The work of art has also been in their possession since 2013.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Information board in Furtwängler Park
2. ^ Salzburg Foundation

Web links

Commons : Gurken (Erwin Wurm)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of the work of art by the Salzburg Foundation

Coordinates: 47 ° 47 '55.6 "  N , 13 ° 2' 32.2"  E