Art in Kassel, from documenta and beyond

The former department store with its striking facade is the epicenter for artists and visitors alike at this year's documenta. In the ruruHaus, artist collectives present themselves and events take place. Practical for visitors: From here, all other documenta venues can quickly be reached.

The Museum Fridericianum has often served as a central location for documenta. This year, the organizers of the group Ruangrupa redefined the historic building as a "lumbung." The term refers to buildings in Indonesia that are communal harvest storage sites and important village meeting places. The artists want to meet with visitors here for workshops and discussions, among other things.

Against the magnificent backdrop of the Orangerie in the Karlsaue Park, this installation draws attention to the dark side of consumer society. The walk-in work "Return to Sender" by Kenyan artist collective The Nest highlights environmental destruction in southern countries caused by the transport of garbage, electronic waste and textiles.

The "Laserscape" installation at documenta 1977 was the world's first permanent laser light artwork — and it's still a nighttime landmark in Kassel. The beams connect the tower at the Museum Fridericianum, the Hercules Octagon and the Hessian State Museum, among other things. Definitely a "highlight" for the night owls among the visitors.

Probably no other documenta work has changed Kassel as permanently as "7000 Oaks: City Forestation instead of City Administration" by Joseph Beuys. In 1982, he tipped 7,000 basalt stones onto a square in the city center. Over the next five years, he moved stone after stone to new locations. At each, an oak was planted, such along this path. Local residents and tourists take pleasure in it.

The work "Idea di Pietra," by Giuseppe Penone, also addresses the coexistence of tree and stone. For documenta 13 in 2012, the Italian installed the skeleton of a tree, cast in bronze, in which a granite boulder is suspended. The nine-meter-high (29.5 ft) sculpture was purchased with donations by citizens of Kassel and now adorns the picturesque park landscape of the Karlsaue.

Over the years some works of art develop a symbolism of their own. The sculpture "Man Walking to the Sky," by Jonathan Borofsky, is one example. In 1992 it was part of documenta 9, but it remained in Kassel afterward, becoming a symbol of recovery for many citizens at a moment of great change: Kassel had been close to the border between East and West Germany; today it's in the geographic center.

The gigantic pickaxe is also a documenta relic. Its creator, Claes Oldenburg, was inspired by a pickaxe found near the city's Orangerie and entertained the idea that the famous Hercules monument in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhre could have thrown it. Thus, for documenta 7 in 1982, Oldenburg created a new landmark: a twelve-meter rendition of the steel implement right on the bank of the Fulda River.

This famous Hercules monument has been attracting visitors to Kassel for much longer than the documenta, which first took place in 1955. High above the city, the 8-meter (27 ft) representation of the demigod has been enthroned on a towering pyramid since the beginning of the 18th century. It looks out over Wilhelmshöhe Palace to downtown Kassel.

The octagonal base upon which the Hercules monument sits is also the starting point of another attraction that drew curious visitors to Kassel long before the documenta: On Wednesdays, Sundays and public holidays from May to October, the baroque waterworks flowing down the hillside enchant visitors from all over the world — and have done so for more than three hundred years.