Kopf und Körper / Head and Body

This new sculpture at the center of a maze is not the only one named Kopf und Körper / Head and Body. Michael Sailstorfer has already created a series of works with the same title, which, despite their abstract forms, also have an anthropomorphic appearance. Using various materials, the artist plays with human perception in this group of works, which allows us to recognize human traits in the most abstract constellations of simple details. Examples of formal art historical connections can be made to works like Horst Antes’ Kopffüßler / Head-Footers or Picasso’s cubist portraits. However, this nine-meter-high wooden sculpture also explores the subject of internal and external connections. Similar to an elevated hunting box, the sculpture can be accessed from a ladder, allowing visitors to observe their surroundings from inside the “head.” In this way, the work is able to combine inside and outside. While one visitor is hidden like a spider in its web at the center of the maze, the people who are in the park can never be sure if they are being watched from up in the “head.” Through visitor interaction, the sculpture comes to life and reaches beyond itself. It offers not only an excellent view over Gräflicher Park, but also the unique opportunity to fill another head with your own thoughts.

This sculpture was installed on the initiative of the Diotima-Gesellschaft.