ART ATTACK: Skyjack gives Germany's rundown sites a multicoloured makeover

Linamar Corporation’s (TSX-LNR) Skyjack division recently helped the non-profit organisation Industrie Brachen um Gestaltung (IBUg) makeover rundown sites in Saxony, a state in East Germany, during its an annual graffiti and urban art fair — this year, the event was held in Plauen.

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Plauen is the 10th German town to receive IBUg’s unique makeover; the non-profit’s annual Urban Culture Festival’s mission is to convert Saxony’s disused or rundown brownfield sites into inspiring epicentres of urban art. By bringing colour and life into some of the country’s industrial wastelands, the non-profit hopes to help uplift the local community.

For one week, 60 urban artists from over 20 countries participated in the Festival of Urban Art & Culture, injecting animation into the outer facades of the town’s disused industrial buildings and factory walls. Much of Germany’s industrial infrastructure in the east has fallen into disuse or disrepair since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, which divided the country between the 1960s to the 1980s.

With some of the walls measuring over 10 m high, a SJ6832 RTE electric rough terrain scissor lift and a SJ51 AJ articulating boom made it easy to reach the taller art spaces.

“IBUg has been running for a decade, but it’s the first year we’ve used Skyjack lifts to help us carry out the artwork and installations — we’ve been very impressed,” said Thomas Dietze, IBUg’s organiser. “We’re used to working with scaffolding to produce our projects, but the Skyjack aerial work platforms helped us speed things up and become more efficient.”

The SJ6832 RTE’s clear, intuitive and easy-to-understand upper controls made operating the unit simple and straightforward for the street artists. And the platform’s robust and rigid all-steel platform, with its non-slip checker plate floor, offered a safe podium to work from. With an 11.75 m working height (32 ft platform height), the SJ6832 RTE’s reach meant the artists could easily assess the areas where they needed to install artwork or paint.

The SJ51 AJ also offered excellent reach, boasting a working height of 17.55 m (51 ft platform height). And, with 360 degree rotation and up-and-over capabilities, the artists were able to reach the art spaces at all times.

“It was important to provide a machine that was easy to operate and these machines fitted the bill,” said Roland Hölzl, general manager of Hölzel-Arbeitsbühnen, rental customer of Skyjack. “Also, during the festival the machines were often operated at night, so we recommended the SJ6832 RTE because of its low noise output and rough terrain capabilities.”

Over five days, artists used the lifts to haul paint and installation pieces, including several heavy metal art installations, to transform the formerly grey and derelict walls into concrete canvases of graffiti art.

The Skyjack aerial work platforms (AWPs) were even used to provide interesting vantage points for photographers capturing the event.

“The machines were so easy to operate,” Dietze explained. “None of our artists had used the Skyjack machines before but with some training they were able to operate the units unassisted. We got some much great feedback about how easy the machines were to use and how helpful they were during the painting process.”

After artists completed the five-day transformation, the site was then opened to the general public for three days from August 28 to 30. More than 6,000 visitors travelled from across Germany, Europe and the rest of the world to view the murals and the metamorphosis of the formerly derelict factory walls into an outdoor art community.

“Art is a rich cultural asset, no matter what form it comes in. Some people are initially sceptical about how graffiti can develop and cultivate an area. But it’s already a form that is firmly established within our culture,” Dietze said. “IBUg is about taking modern street art and using it to brighten a neglected area that is rotten and forgotten. Through these projects we are energising communities and reimagining the way people interact with the history and architecture that’s part of the fabric of their life.”

Skyjack donated the machines for use at the festival as part of its 30 FOR 30 PARTNERS campaign. Since February, Skyjack has been celebrating its 30th business anniversary by supporting charitable and non-profit projects around the world.

“We’ve been delighted to support this exciting event,” said Andreas Stumpf, sales manager Skyjack Germany. “Graffiti certainly isn’t the most conventional art form, but in a setting like this it can bring a community back to life — which is what the 30 FOR 30 PARTNERS campaign is all about.”