Landmark - Contour

In the town of Berlingsen, linden trees flank the memorial. This place of remembrance, public commemoration, and collective memory holds social significance; it symbolizes remembrance, a warning, and a call for peace.

As tree monuments, the linden trees are part of this significance of the site. They are special trees in the public space and within the tradition of the village of Berlingsen. Ulrich Möckel selected the linden tree to the right of the memorial to use as the model for the shape of the landmark.

The contour of the linden tree—the unusually meandering outline of the trunk, which grew that way in reality—served as his template for the sculpture, which was crafted from Corten steel. Erected vertically, it serves as a landmark in the landscape.

It is a form that belongs to the “Konturen” (Contours) series. In the past, the artist has used various materials to depict trees in their outlines: as bronze objects on the wall, cast in concrete, layered as columns, bent into neon tubes, or rendered as images in graphite drawings and embossed prints.

Ulrich Möckel refers to the outline of a tree trunk at the point where the tree emerges from the earth into the light—that is, directly at ground level—as a “contour.” Contours are—like fingerprints—unique and refer to a very specific tree.

For him, the outline is a kind of lifeline: time made into form.

Excerpt from a review

by Dr. Andrea Brockmann on Ulrich

Möckel Location: Fork in the road where Huerweg, Kreesweg, and Königstraße meet, between
Lendringsen, City of Soest, and Berlingsen, Municipality

of Möhnesee For more information, visit:

https://www.wegmarken-am-hellweg.de/Bildrechte: Werner Liedmann