Sumperulme / Elm tree at Sumperkamp

Elmar Träbert:
The HuMu story of 2017

For about 100 years, an elm tree grew close to the little Sumperkamp street in the southern suburb Querenburg of the city of Bochum. In the 1960s, Querenburg was slated to become a garden town, but then a conversion of the largely agriculturally oriented village suburb into the site of the first German new university after World War II changed all that. The elm tree saw the largest construction site in Europe sprout the new 13 main university buildings plus central offices, lecture halls, and library buildings, the relocation of Querenburger Strasse to become Universitätsstrasse with a tram line (no. 5, later subway line U35) as well as a branch street, Hustadtring, serving the new Unicenter shopping and housing complex. By about 2012 the tree died, maybe as a precursor to the European elm disease spreading about by 2016. The city eventually wanted to cut the dead tree down, but Philipp Unger, a local activist and member of many neighbourhood associations (such as, for example, "University meets Querenburg") managed to persuade the city's technical services department to perhaps trim the dead branches, but to let most of the massive trunk, a section they had already cut off, and a last branch, stay in place, pending a beautification project still to be developed.

In 2016 Philipp asked around for suggestions how to develop the knoll on which the remainders of the elm tree stood, thinking of a HuMu figure (Hustadt-Muffel / Hustadt grump), an urban myth figure invented for earlier (1970s) civic festivities at the new Hustadt quarter of Querenburg, the university residential section a kilometer downhill from the tree. This grumpy character had been occasionally revived as a symbolic carrier of concerns and complaints that was to be burned at the end of the event.

Upon Philipp's instigation, Elmar Träbert, a sculptor at the Musisches Zentrum (Center for the Arts) of the university, manufactured a small 3D-model sketch in wood; he suggested to shape the top of the remaining trunk into a head of HuMu, using the remaining branch as a outstretched arm from which to hang a swing, and to sculpt the cut-off trunk section into a sitting bench. Philipp wanted to add various decorations and to turn the bare trunk into a space for a neighbourhood information exchange board. Philipp and his helpers scraped off the dead bark, and then a small citizen panel visited the site and discussed the plans. In April of 2017, a scaffold was erected, and Christoph Platz, a professional Bochum woodworker and artist with a treasure chest of power tools and expertise, within two days shaped the head of the trunk to the approval of many passers-by and added a hand to the outstretched arm. The previously cut off section of the trunk was, indeed, turned into a bench, with ends decorated by XXX.

Now HuMu watches over the playground at the Eastern end of the Unicenter and is seen by anybody leaving the shopping are towards the Hustadt section. At the inauguration weekend, the outstretched arm held a swing, which is likely to happen again at future occasions.

Christoph's chainsaw work left many pieces of wood of all sizes and shapes. Christoph cut a section to use in his own workshop, and Elmar selected a few odd pieces for his sculpting supplies. The rest was collected as firewood for the iron stove in the Mongolian yurt that housed several activists during the inauguration weekend.

The tree before the action is depicted at Quernetz Bochum, where also the history of HuMu is expanded.

Sketch for Hustadt grump tree stump (wood)

Little HuMu no. 2 to 5 (wood) (Giveaways for VIP project supporters)

Second weekend in April 2017
Christoph Platz and helpers shape the tree, HuMu emerges

Little HuMu (the design sketch) on top of the tree trunk (big HuMu-to be)

Chainsaw work leftovers make it to the Musisches Zentrum / Center for the Arts at RUB and are turned into their own characters, eventually.
The photos below show some of the artwork that was produced "all from this very tree".

Noselm (elm)