Marianne Schubert & Torsten Arncken

After “man schaue was geschieht”, the book about Rudolf Steiner's landscape design at the Goetheanum (with Stephan Stockmar as co-author), another book is now being written with the provisional working title: “Quitte, Hasel, Walnuss. The ethereal shells of the Goetheanum buildings”

Our work is based on three of Rudolf Steiner's planting suggestions for the Goetheanum grounds: quince near the glass house, hazel around the heating house and walnut in the immediate vicinity of the main building. These trees have been growing in the places indicated for 100 years and are now old and diseased. So it's about time we asked some questions: What was the deeper intention of these indications? What processes in the plant kingdom did Steiner want to draw our attention to? Did he want us to participate in a conversation between the buildings and the elements of the natural kingdoms around them? What healing, fertilizing effects do these plants have on the activities in the buildings?

We spent three years doing field research, observing the growth processes of the woody plants and studying their substance formation. These plants live in active creation, reflecting the course of the year and the passage of time by forming shapes, colors and living substance. In dialog with “their” buildings and their purpose, they create a higher unity. With our book, we would like to give an insight into the life processes of these plants in interaction with the three buildings, show the ethereal pictorial forces at work in them and illustrate what we can experience in the process. Drawings, photos, modeled clay objects and perceptions of scent and taste accompanied these explorations and helped us to develop an understanding of the three very different characters of these plants and to capture them in pictures and words.

We are supported by the Natural Science Section at the Goetheanum, and the "Verlag am Goetheanum" and "Rudolf Steiner Verlag" will join forces to publish the book. However, as with the first book, the production costs will have to be covered by us. We are assuming production costs of around € 20'000 for a volume of around 100 pages and a print run of 1'500 copies.

We would therefore like to ask you for a donation for our book project – any amount is welcome! Of course, we will reserve a book for you in return.

"One conquers the living through the contemplation of metamorphosis.
One thereby enlivens one's own thinking.
It is transformed from a dead to a living one.
But in this way it becomes capable of absorbing the life of the spirit by contemplation."
^{Rudolf Steiner GA 36}

Table of contents “Quince, Hazel, Walnut”
• Introduction
• The Goetheanum grounds in Dornach near Basel
• Rudolf Steiner's plant information
• The methods of our investigation
• Site observations
• Description of the individual quince, hazel and walnut in the course of the year
• Drawing and sculptural study of the three plant species
• Conclusions – future aspects
 

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