Art in the Park II

18/05/2021 Seamus Comments 0 Comment

Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

I thought I had finally lost it the other day. One minute we were driving along the motorway south of Graz, the next, it felt like we had wandered into a 1970s album cover.

Pink wooden shed on right, grassy slope with white wooden fence on left, tips of two trees visible behind fence, blue sky above, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

Our trip to the Austrian Sculpture Park was quite a trip!

We must have passed by the sculpture park dozens of times over the years. If I had got a fish for every time the Oldies declared they really must visit it someday, I’d have quite a net full by now. Thanks to the corona situation, that ‘someday’ finally dawned. I have to admit that I hadn’t exactly been waiting with bated breath to go there myself, but it far exceeded my expectations.

The Alpine Garden section of the park is beautifully landscaped and cleverly set out in a series of ‘grass pyramids’ which allow you to view most of the exhibits from a variety of angles. Even so, some of them are a little hard to get a handle on…

Large sculpture of giant silver handle with screws at base on grassy slope, metal sculpture, path and trees in background, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

This piece was far and away my favourite. I loved the idea of ‘The Globe as a Suitcase’ – mind-blowing on the one hand, a fun concept on the other. Though the way you humans handle the globe these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those screws is loose…

Hah! I wasn’t too off the mark with my 1970s album cover comparison. I noticed that one of the works is by none other than Yoko Ono, and another piece is entitled ‘Stairway to Heaven’.

Pond in foreground, black and glass walled shed with car inside behind pond, trees on left, building with roof and white bulging walls between trees, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

We saw dozens of lovely houses last week in the Austrian Open-Air Museum, but I think I found the ideal house for the Oldies here in the Austrian Sculpture Park: the ‘Fat House’. A perfect fit for them. It even comes complete with its own ‘Fat Car’. All that extra padding would definitely be a good idea when Her Ladyship’s doing the driving!

Seamus the Seagull standing in metal lilac flower on grass, three more identical flowers behind, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

I don’t usually mind tiptoeing through the tulips, but these metal flowers were a little hard on the old webbed feet, and I think His Lordship could sniff away until kingdom come before he’d get a sniff of a scent off them.

Balding man with grey beard wearing bright yellow tee shirt standing behind pink metal frame with lilac metal flower in centre of it, trees in background, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

I still liked this sculpture though, and I loved the way it is positioned in the middle of the forest. What a wonderful colourful surprise to stumble across as you wander through the trees!

Seamus the Seagull standing on top of wall like sculpture made of large rocks in grassy area, metal sculpture and trees in background, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

Gosh, one of the last times I was standing on a dry stone wall like this was in County Kerry in Ireland. This one here is a bit airy. It certainly wouldn’t stand up to those Atlantic winds. But either here or there, building a wall like this is quite an art.

Seamus the Seagull standing on boulder in grass with shiny metal sheeting welded onto it, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

This is so cool. As I’ve always said, I love a bit of bling with my boulder. Well, actually, I’ve never said that, but from now on I will insist on it!

High tiled wall with blue, white, yellow and black tiles in random pattern, grass in foreground, trees in background, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

I really didn’t know what to make of this tiled wall, imaginatively entitled ‘Made in Italy’. Colourful, certainly, but art? Then again, who am I to say? Oh dear, I’ve just had a horrible thought… Lately, the Oldies have been talking about remodelling their bathroom. I just hope to goodness this piece doesn’t give them any ideas…

Mirrored surface made up of random mirrored pieces, distorted image of man and woman reflected in it, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten

At times it looked like the pair of them were starting to crack up on me completely. Help!

Blue basin with ladder and diving board at bottom, Austrian Sculpture Park, Unterpremstätten — -3m Board

I was totally bemused by the artwork entitled ‘-3m Board’, an upside down diving board 3 metres underground. Talk about turning the world on its head! The ‘Ark made of Living Trees’ was more my cup of tea, as was the ‘Concrete Boat’. Modern art tends to leave me all at sea, but in those cases, I didn’t really mind.

Overall, I must say that, although at times I really didn’t know what to think or where to look, the Austrian Sculpture Park was a most relaxing and enjoyable place to while away a few hours. I particularly enjoyed sitting by the water lily pond in the Alpine Garden and the lotus blossom pond in the Pheasant Garden, in spite of the noisy frogs. Heavenly!