Sir Peter Ustinov Stiftung 2009
Blueberry Magic Tree
Hermann J Kassel
Material: app. 80 × 80 × 250 cm
medium-density fiberboard, colored; rebars; bamboo cane, acrylics
Assisted by: Annette Volk
Story: The blueberry magic tree “Doll Grandesang” is a magic singing tree in the children’s opera “Tomcat Moshe and the King’s Ring” by Chris Seidler and grows on a secret island in Blueberry Land.
Construction: The magic tree is made of about 300 pieces of bamboo cane. Each child painted his/her own piece.
There are 50 holes in the massive base board for rebars, each app. 220 cm long. The pieces of bamboo cane painted by the children are pushed over the rebars. Since the rebars as well as the pieces of bamboo can be arranged in various ways, the tree can be made to change its look. An overall picture always consists of a (varying) combination of individual elements. Communities gain from individuals. In addition to children’s active participation in creating the tree, it can be used on stage or in the entrance hall when the opera is performed. “For me it is important that children enjoy creative work but also see that it can be used in a meaningful way”, said Hermann J Kassel in September 2010.
The Blueberry Magic Tree was created in September 2009 in Gelsenkirchen, Nordsternpark. The Ustinov Foundation and Chris Seidler invited all the children of the Ruhr to come and discover together with known artists a creative world, to work, sing and dance there, to become “blueberry land inhabitants”.
Sir Peter Ustinov’s personal involvement against prejudice and for mutual respect, his fundamental humanist and open-minded attitude is the guiding principle of the Ustinov Foundation established in 1999. Its aim is to support a social culture of respect and it funds national and international projects.