As the Crow Flies: Schwäbisch Hall–Bern

History of the work

In the Baroque garden of the Brünnengut in the west of Bern lies a work of blue granite by Heinz Brand. The City of Bern lists it under the title 'Luftlinie Schwäbisch Hall–Bern' and dates it to 1991. A 'Luftlinie' is the straight line between two places – here the two towns in the title.

In the same year the Städtische Galerie am Markt in Schwäbisch Hall showed Brand's exhibition 'Hier und Weg – Räume' (Here and Away – Spaces) from 15 June to 18 August, as a library catalogue records. The artists' lexicon SIKART also lists the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum in Schwäbisch Hall among the collections holding his work. Whether the work at the Brünnengut is connected with that exhibition is not stated in the sources found.

The Brünnengut is a former country estate on a terrace above Murtenstrasse. According to the building inventory it consists of a manor house, a farmhouse, a pavilion that probably served as a wash and bake house, and a granary. South of the manor house lies the French garden with box hedges dividing the beds in strict geometric patterns, and a wall with a Baroque gate on the west side. The landscape architects David Bosshard and Andreas Tremp, who won the 2006 competition for the new park, pointed out that this garden sits above the motorway built underground in the 1980s. The park, framed by about 200 lime trees, was inaugurated in July 2010.

Brand was born in Biberist in 1944 and attended the school of applied arts in Bern from 1960 to 1965. Stays in Japan, Poland and the Netherlands shaped him; according to SIKART, his engagement with Zen Buddhism since his stay in Kyoto is the intellectual basis of his work. SIKART counts him among the earliest artists in Switzerland to use photography as part of fine art. In front of the Federal Archives in Bern stands his work 'Schachloses Schach' (Chessless Chess) of 1986, made of granite and marble cubes. He lives in Reichenbach near Bern.

Visitors to the garden find the granite work among the geometrically clipped hedges – a quiet spot above a motorway.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Heinz Brand (Susanne Bieri) · Wikipedia (de): Heinz Brand (Künstler) · CaGeWeB: Heinz Brand – Hier und Weg, Räume (Städtische Galerie am Markt, Schwäbisch Hall 1991) · Bauinventar Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Brünnengut · Stadt Bern: Projekterläuterung Bosshard/Tremp, Eröffnung Parkanlage Brünnengut 2010 · Stadtgärtnerei Bern: Daten und Fakten zur Parkanlage Brünnengut · Wikimedia Commons: Granitskulptur Luftlinie Bern–Schwäbisch Hall (Heinz Brand 1991)