harvest
This art is for chewing: The wheat field of Art Basel becomes flour
On Sunday, people from Basel were able to harvest wheat on the exhibition grounds. The curator of the project is pleased with the harvest. The wheat field has been the subject of frequent reports in recent months – not always positively.
Basel residents were able to pick up a small bag of wheat or a bouquet of ears of corn on Sunday.
Photo: Juri Junkov
“It was a long process from sowing in early April to harvesting now in August,” says Samuel Leuenberger about the wheat field that was created on the Messeplatz as part of Art Basel. Leuenberger has curated the Messeplatz for the third time. The wheat field “Honouring Wheatfield – A Confrontation (2024)” was now harvested on Sunday.
The population was invited to lend a hand. Scissors were laid out on two tables, inviting curious people to pick a bunch of ears of corn. There was also already harvested wheat for bakers to fill into small bags.
The Basel wheat field is a tribute to “In Wheatfield – A Confrontation” by the American artist Agnes Denes, who created a similar wheat field in New York in 1982. The Basel tribute became a popular photo motif for visitors during Art Basel. Hardly anyone missed a snapshot between the ears of wheat.
The big crawling in the buckets
After the species, uninvited guests also began to take an interest in the field. In mid-June, beetles nested in the field. Grain beetles, which like to lay their eggs in wheat fields. Curator Samuel Leuenberger, however, told the Regional Journal SRF gave the all-clear at the time: the beetles would not harm either the art or the wheat.
While the little beetles continued their big crawling without a care in the world, the wheat field was once again the topic of the media. NZZ reported that the condition of the wheat field was “shameful”. On the one hand, some of the buckets were moved to the Rosenthal facility, and on the other hand, some of the buckets were rotting and looked pitiful.
The «Basler Zeitung» intervened anddefended the wheat field: “The wheat is obviously being cared for and is thriving,” she reported in response to the NZZ article. But the BaZ also noted that the division of the field was not what the artist Agnes Denes had in mind. Instead of the wheat buckets, there is now a temporary soccer field on the exhibition grounds to draw attention to the European Women’s Soccer Championship next year.
Revenue to be distributed
Samuel Leuenberger also explains that a lot has happened since April. “It was a wet summer, and many wheat fields in the region suffered as a result.” However, they are all the more pleased with the result and that the harvest was able to be carried out on schedule. “The idea was also that people who live in the city would come into contact with wheat and see how it looks and grows, and how it is harvested and processed.”
The yield from the wheat field will now be distributed in Basel and the region. “For Agnes Denes, it is important that the wheat is distributed in Basel and the region and that part of it is also used for charitable purposes.” Where exactly the bread will be sold will not be communicated. So anyone who makes themselves an Art Basel sandwich in the near future will not know that they are chewing art.
