Joseph Beuys (1921-1986)

Pala is a 'product' of Beuys' seminal action 7000 Eichen, begun in 1982 at Documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany. Beuys' plan involved planting 7000 oak saplings accompanied by upright basalt slabs, installing the first pair himself in the spring of that year. The monumental project was not completed until after his death - the last tree and stone were placed in 1987 by the artist's son on the opening day of Documenta 8. Beuys' intention behind the work was to set up a dynamic interaction over the years between the inert stone and the growing trees.