2024

auf Anfrage zugänglich

Verbandsgrundschule München-Karlsfeld, Schulstraße 8, 85757 Karlsfeld im Landkreis Dachau

Esche 1 & Esche 2 (Fraxinus excelsior), 2 Fassaden aus Max Compact Exterior Platten, jeweils ca. 10 × 6 m

Architecture: ALN | Architekturbüro Leinhäupl+Neuber GmbH, Landshut, BKS & Partner Bauer Reichert Seitz Architekten mbB, München

Landscape architecture: Thilo Mittag & adlerolesch Landschaftsarchitekten, München

Photos: Christoph Mukherjee

Text: Herbert Schnepf

Ilse Haider’s art in architecture project “Zwei Eschen” presents life-size photographic representations of two ash trees situated on two 10 x 6 meter-walls of the inner courtyards of the Karlsfeld elementary school. With this motif, she directly refers to the realization of the school building, for which, among other things, two 80-year-old ash trees had to be felled on the site.

The technique used here is typical for Ilse Haider yet unique in its dimensions. A kind of three-dimensional photography, in which a photographic image is applied to a raised surface, was employed here to create the illusion of spatial presence. Ilse Haider normally uses this procedure to portray images of icons of pop culture and art history on coated wooden panels 1 x 2 meters in size.

For this project, the artist decided to portray two mature and fully grown ash trees: the felled trees had to be transported to a hall, which had been converted into a darkroom, and lifted onto light-sensitive paper under red light by numerous helpers. It was then exposed and developed in a specially constructed production line. In a digital reproduction, the images were finally printed in equal parts on weather-resistant plates and protruding slats. When viewed from the front, the result is a single image that has a three-dimensional effect due to the depth of the various image planes.

The photographic technique used is a photogram.[1] The blue color and the monochrome richness of detail in the depiction are a reference to the cyanotypes [2] of Anna Atkins [3], who used this process to produce the first botanical photographs in the mid-1800s. The reference to the scientific-preservation process is significant in several respects. The portraits of the felled ash trees represent humanity’s threat to nature. In addition, ash is a threatened tree species in Europe, and it is believed that the majority of its population will fall victim to a fungal disease in the next few years.

The depictions of the trees in the courtyards of the elementary school can also be understood as an allusion to the institution of school itself, the abstracted bringing in and communicating of the world. The enormously complex process of producing the photograms can also be seen as significant: the project could only be implemented through a great joint effort; similar to the efforts that still have to be made to restore the ecological balance.

The image of a tree also allows for many interpretations; its branches and majestic size can symbolize the social structure of school, growth and even life itself. Furthermore, the beauty of each photograph lies in its ability to perceive the object depicted for what it is: a tree.

[1] A photogram is a photograph created without a camera, in which objects are placed directly on light-sensitive material and exposed.
[2] A cyanotype is one of the first photographic processes based on iron rather than silver, which produces the typical blue color effect. The exposure takes place directly on the paper and requires sun- or UV light.
[3]  The British natural scientist Anna Atkins became known for her (photographic) images of ferns and other plants using cyanotypes. Because of this early application, she is considered the first female photographer.