Vertschaupet II, Magdeburg

Vertschaupet II is a sculpture in the old town of Magdeburg.

The sculpture is located north of the Green Citadel of Magdeburg, the Magdeburg Hundertwasser House, near the Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt and is part of the Sculpture Park Magdeburg.

It was created in 1979/80 by the Swiss artist Schang Hutter. The work is made of nodular cast iron and steel. It reaches a height of 1.51 meters with a length of 3.87 meters. Eight figures reminiscent of stick figures stand, sit or lie on a surface. Some are part of the surface and sunk into it.

The term Vertschaupet comes from the Swiss German and means something like trample. The artist dealt with the question of the possession of power and the infliction of suffering. He wanted to address the overlooked, pushed aside, oppressed and left alone. Uncertainty in standing and touching characterizes the sculpture. Hutter was preoccupied with the possibilities of annihilation of other people devised by humans.

The sculpture Vertschaupet II goes back to a corresponding work formed from simple wooden slats. The form of the figures is typical of Hutter, who is content to indicate the direction of the figure, the internal state and to circumscribe the space without depicting the figure in its entirety.