Took a trip to the Black Forest village of Munstertal on Saturday, looking for a change of scenery and to see St. Trudpert’s church (that will be a future post). I was intrigued by this sculpture in the church cemetery.

As you can see, it is the fingers (and thumb) of a hand rising from the ground. I’m not sure what sculptor Franz Gutmann intended to covey with this art, but my first thought was someone being buried alive and trying (unsuccessfully) to get out. Not a pleasant thought for a graveyard.

Public art is supposed to make you think. Gutmann certainly has done that with this piece.

I didn’t see any information on the sculpture at the cemetery, though I must confess I didn’t look too hard. There might be a brochure in the church that I missed. But, wanting to learn more, when I got home I looked online to see if I could find out more about this work of art.

Turns out Gutmann is a local artist, now in his nineties, nationally (maybe internationally known). Munstertal isn’t that big – I could probably have dropped by his house and asked him what he was trying to say with this work.

Maybe next time.