City marker S07 (Stadsmarkering S07)

About this artwork.

Willows have been planted in a four-hundred-metre long vertical row on one side of an equally long moat. In this moat there are pillars with metal wires that warp the trees as they grow. 
 
William Forsythe's design reflects his choreographic background: the trees are like dancing bodies, shaped and distorted. At the same time, the bent trees meet the theoretical condition of master planner Libeskind, that every city marker would bear witness to the past, present and future. In earlier times, Groningen shipbuilders used the same method of warping to give the wood the right curvature for the bulkheads. But the work of art is mainly future-oriented, because it will then be possible to see whether the trees do indeed grow in a warped manner using this system.
 
The work forms part of the Stadsmarkeringen, The Books of Groningen, marking the city boundaries, project.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  William Forsythe

• District
  Lewenborg, Noorddijk & Ruischerbrug

• Year of creation
  1990

• Art type
  Land art, Light artwork

• Material
  Metal, Willows

• Dimensions
  b 420 m