Luk‡ä Gavlovskù

HE, SHE, AND THE LANDSCAPE
To be realized outdoors 
near the village HÞ’äkov 
(Louny district)

I am interested in making such
an outdoor project that would
remain, or at least live with
the landscape for a relatively
long time, as measured by the
human life span. All of my
previous outdoor works were
made to disappear quite
quickly. The project He, She,
and the Landscape will achieve
its significance only through
the course of time. I can
return to HÞ’äkov at any time
and witness the process as can
my girl-friend, people from
the village, and above all,
the landscape itself. The
project involves the planting
of trees along a two kilometer
track of a field that leads
southwards from the village to
the extensive forested land.

This track is crossed,
approximately in the middle of
its length, by another track.
Except for several neglected
apple trees, a haystack and
this crossing, there is
nothing to interrupt the
boundless re-cultivated
fields. I am thus attempting
to create a place that will
reanimate a landscape that has
lost its character and beauty.

The crossing of the two tracks
in the field becomes the
center. There I placed two
sand stones of about human
size. They are a kind of
replica of ancient, supposedly
Celtic menhirs, that, as I
believe, used to have deep
significance and were erected
upon holy sites by our
predecessors. I turn now to my
own life story. This past year
has been marked by my meeting
a woman. So one stone is MAN
and one stone is WOMAN. Each
of them is at the head of one
of the alleys. Lindens were
planted on the right side in
the direction to the village,
oak trees are on the other
side in the direction towards
the forest. From a different
view, the oak and linden
alleys meet each other at the
crossing of the tracks. Old
land-registers I gradually
came across the nearly
forgotten local names, e.g.
Above Birches, At Pits, At the
Koruäkovic Cross. I also found
the name At the Three Oaks
that is mentioned in the most
recent visitors map as only a
legend. I have talked to
several old inhabitants that
remember the local landscape
before the collectivization as
being full of beautiful
secluded places. There is a
chance that this new place in
the middle of the fields will
also be given its own name by
the local inhabitants. When
they acquire a personal
relationship with the place,
they may start calling it by a
certain name, regardless of my
own legend. 

On May 5, 1997, I ÒbaptizedÒ
the work at the crossings with
the participation of invited
guests and local people. It
may seem now as though my
project is finished. However,
I have to look after all 260
young trees for many years,
together with the villagers
from HÞ’äkov, before they
become strong and resi-stant.
A contract has been made with
the mayor and the local
agricultural farm for their
collaboration on this project.