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All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan 7000 Oaks

7000 Oaks

Twenty-three trees, each paired with a basalt stone, line a street in Chelsea, continuing an urban project started by German Fluxus artist Joseph Beuys.

New York, New York

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Michael Inscoe
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One of Dia’s additions to 7000 Oaks.   © 2017 Google Maps
One of Dia’s additions to 7000 Oaks.   © 2017 Google Maps
One of Dia’s additions to 7000 Oaks.   © 2017 Google Maps
Some of Beuys’ oak trees in Kassel, Germany.   Keichwa/CC BY-SA 3.0
One of Dia’s additions to 7000 Oaks.   © 2017 Google Maps
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About

Between 1982 and 1987, German Fluxus artist Joseph Beuys, with the help of volunteers, planted 7,000 oak trees in Kassel, Germany. Each tree was flanked by a stone, to provide nourishment for the soil around the tree as it eroded.

The project, subtitled “City Forestation Instead of City Administration,” was created for the 1982 international art exhibition Documenta 7, and the final tree was planted at the opening of Documenta 8 in 1987. Since then it has inspired similar works throughout the world.

In 1988, the Dia Art Foundation continued the 7000 Oaks project in New York City by planting five trees (a gingko, a linden, a bradford pear, a sycamore, and an oak) along 548 West 22nd Street. The same basalt stone markers were installed next to each tree. In 1996, the foundation planted 18 more trees (each one with its own basalt stone) on 22nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. The extensions of Beuys’ work continue to grow and erode all at once on the street in Chelsea.

Beuys died in 1986, a year before oak tree number 7,000 was planted, and two years before the New York additions. His legacy of ecological intervention and urban renewal, however, continues to inspire environmental and social change to this day.

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Trees Art Installations Ecology Plants Cities

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Michael Inscoe

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erjeffery, MtnLady, redchuck

  • erjeffery
  • MtnLady
  • redchuck

Published

December 12, 2017

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7000 Oaks
518 W 22nd St
New York, New York
United States
40.747231, -74.00573
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