In this video we have a closer look at a true gem of art in public spaces. Created by the Basel-based artist Ludwig Stocker, the sculpture with the title “Einrollen-Ausrollen (1978)” (Rolling In – Rolling Out), is unique and fascinating in many respects. Ludwig Stocker’s work is located in a rather unusual place in Basel, Switzerland: right in the middle of a spiral pedestrian/bicycle footbridge with the highway on one side and allotment gardens on the other.
Here, where Basel’s execution site used to be, a bridge was built in the 1970s as part of the construction of the freeway to provide access to two parts of the city for non-motorized traffic. In order to overcome the difference in height and at the same time take up little space, a spiral bridge was chosen. To enrich the site with a work of art, Kunstkredit Basel announced a competition, which was won by Ludwig Stocker. Stocker created a vertical column made of Carrara marble as the center for the spiral walkway, with five elements that symbolize evolution.
We had the chance to meet up with the artist in his studio in Basel to get to know more about this artwork. In this video, Ludwig Stocker talks about how this artwork came about, the inspiration for the work, the unique location of the marble column, and the different elements of the piece. The interview was conducted in Swiss German, subtitles in High German and English are available.
Interview with Ludwig Stocker, Basel (Switzerland), June 28, 2024.
P.S.: After all these years, Ludwig Stocker’s sculpture is still an amazing piece of art. It has aged extraordinarily well. Although not many people, even Basel residents, know about this work, it is definitely an artwork that deserves good care and (much more) attention. Those who know about it enjoy its oasis like character. Many thanks to Denise Bienz and Ludwig Stocker for the interview.
— Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.
Extended version (19:00 min.):
The artist Ludwig Stocker
Ludwig Stocker (born August 1, 1932 in Herisau) is a Swiss sculptor and painter. Ludwig Stocker grew up in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. From 1949 to 1954, he trained as a sculptor under Wilhelm Meier and Josef Büsser in St. Gallen and continued his studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. In 1956, he married Annemarie Ledergerber and had four children. Ludwig Stocker has lived as a freelance artist in Basel since 1957. At the beginning of his career, he copied medieval sandstone figures for the Basel Cantonal Monument Preservation Office. In the years 1972-1982, in addition to his freelance work, he reconstructed the Parthenon pediment figures on a scale of 1:1 in the sculpture hall of the Antikenmuseum Basel under Ernst Berger. In this context, he produced extensive studies on the theory of harmonic proportions. In 1961 he received a scholarship from the Kiefer Hablitzel Foundation. From 1972, solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums followed, including Kunsthalle Basel (1972; 3rd Biennale of Swiss Art, Kunstmuseum Winterthur (1978); Kornschütte Lucerne (1983); Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen (1990); October Gallery, London (1990); Kunstmuseum Thun (1991); Kunstmuseum and Kunstverein Olten (1998); Neustädter Rathaus, Prague (2000); Skulpturhalle, Basel (2009). Since 1982 regular solo exhibitions at the Carzaniga Gallery, Basel.
The sculpture in public space Einrollen-Ausrollen (Rolling In – Rolling Out)
In connection with the completion of the A2 highway section (Osttangente) in Basel, a loop-shaped ramp was also built by the engineers R. Walther and H. Mory from Basel. In the area of the pedestrian path from St. Alban-Teich to Galgenhügel, an artistic design was commissioned by the Canton of Basel-Stadt. The column is the work of the Basel sculptor Ludwig Stocker. He submitted this design as part of an art competition in 1976/77. The entry was awarded and commissioned by the Canton of Basel-Stadt.
The artist has carved a stele from Carrara marble under the title Rolling In and Rolling Out, which in turn consists of five similar column elements, each with spiral-shaped capitals. Intermediate supports form cubes, classic elements of resting matter. In the volute centers of the columns, small symbols that change from column to column (shell, crystal, plant, bird, human) in the capitals indicate what is meant by the fivefold division: it symbolizes a cyclical event that orders everything from the water below up to the human being. To illustrate this thought process, the column stands in a small fountain basin, in which it is reflected, and points up into the clouds. Numerous other references show that Stocker is drawing on ancient traditions by reckoning with the laws of harmony: for example, the column height of 10.5 m corresponds exactly to the diameter of the pedestrian spiral.
Other works by Stocker in the city of Basel include “Offener Raum” (1987) in the Hörnli cemetery in Riehen and “Lagerstätte” (1992), a sculpture in the Rhine next to a pillar of the Mittlere Brücke, whose visibility varies with the water level of the river.
(Source: Wikipedia, Hochbauamt Basel-Stadt)
