Sculpture exhibition in Muensingen, Switzerland

A fascinating creature (artist: Regula Kaeser-Bonanomi)

Hello again!

On September 9, 2006, I visited my old home-town of Muensingen, where I lived for twelve years from summer 1961. I felt rather hemmed in at the time -- in and around 1968 people didn't always take kindly to raucous teenagers emulating the cheekiness of Parisians or the laid-back attitude of Californian Flower Children (I suppose they still don't).

However, Muensingen has not only grown to at least twice the size since then but come a long way in many other ways. It's a prosperous, vibrant community and people are always looking for new ways to attract outside interest.

This summer an open-air sculpture exhibition has been held, showcasing forty artists from Muensingen, Switzerland and abroad, converting public spaces, parks and squares into a huge open-air art gallery.

My walk on that gorgeous early September day covered about a third of the whole exhibition. As it's still on until October 21, 2006, I hope to return to see the remainder.
(More details: http://www.skulpturen-muensingen.ch )

I'm using the map to guide me to the names of artists whose works I found particularly fascinating. Apologies for any errors!




NOTE:
The best way to view these photos is by starting at the end of this post -- please accept my apologies for the inconvenience. :)


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Absolutely the best way to approach this piece by Brigitta Briner King is from the back and wondering what this mini high-rise building is doing in the middle of a patch of grass. The brownish and blueish blobs are semi-transparent photos of ancient representations of woman -- clay figurines of fertility goddesses, mostly -- I seemed to recognize the heavily obese female figure dating back thousands of years that was unearthed in Malta.
It's only at second glance, having walked around the sculpture, that one realizes that it is a sundial -- luckily, the sun really was out that day -- and what a hot, sunny day it was, too! Beautiful how the grass around the sculpture has been cut to emphasize the dial. As anyone can see, it was just after midday...

However, life intrudes in even the most sublime of places. This time it was the rattling of an endless-seeming freight train carrying new cars across Switzerland.


My focus in this photo was not on the painted wood sculpture (by Andres Meschter?) but on the brown blur to the right of it -- a huge 'Kreuzspinne' (cross spider?) sitting in the centre of a car-wheel sized web -- magnificent!

Detail from hoferundhofer's '99+1'. This inscription reads:

Angehaltener Atem im Morgen
Licht
vermag nicht aufzuhalten
den Lauf der Zeit
Jetzt dich zu spüren
nur einen Augenblick
Und ich hätte Kraft
bis weit
in den Winter hinein

(Breath held in morning / light / cannot halt / the course of time / To feel you now / but for the blink of an eye / And I'd have strength / until far / into the winter)

An impressive square of ninety-nine thin rods with what look like pieces of tree bark (probably bronze casts of same) to which small notes have been attached. Are these two artists aware that the Q'uran has ninety-nine names for Allah? To me, their piece holds a special meaning in these times fraught with conflict between Muslims and Christians, fanned by both sides. May this meditative work bring peace.

The inscription on this old fountain reads: 'Gottes Brünnlein hat Wassers die Fülle -- 1920', (God's small fountain has a fulness of water). Sadly, it looks as though that fulsome promise has been unkept for some time -- the basin was full of dead leaves and other kinds of detritus that day.
Detail from 'Lifelines':
Lifelines in a shady spot in the old cemetery (artist: Lisa Notter).
A headstone from 1894 recalls the Franco-Prussian war of 1871. Does anyone know why those people were buried in Muensingen?
On the approach to Muensingen's old cemetery, which is usually closed to the public, the visitors passed underneath this colourful arch (artist: Regula Kaeser-Bonanomi).
Boats featured quite prominently in this exhibition. The above seem to skim down a wave of grass (artist: Bruno Sutter).
Anna Schmid built a catamaran and stele from black wood, which made a striking contrast with the white gravel circle beneath the two sculptures, and with the surrounding greenery of the linden trees shading the footpath from the main road to the church.
The exhilarating umbrella tree outside the great convention and concert hall in the so-called 'Schlossguet' of Muensingen (name of artist unknown -- thank you, anyone, for supplying his/her name).