About the "1. Symposium europäischer Bildhauer" in St. Margarethen       

Brad Goldberg - sculptor - 2006                                 (Minesota Symposion, History)

..The first International Stone Carving Symposium was created by the Austrian sculptor Karl Prantl in 1959. Several years earlier, he had placed what he called a “Border Stone” between his native Austria and it’s neighboring enemy, Hungary. That act articulated that art had no borders, that people are essentially the same, and that perhaps artists were not restricted by the shackles of politicians. The seed of the border stone notion grew in his head. Ultimately Prantl created the seminal idea of bringing together sculptors from around the world to gather at the Roman quarry of St. Margarethen in Burgenland, Austria.
It was like an “Olympics” of stone sculpture, but without the competition. Rather, it was a discourse: sculptors created a dialogue with each other through the commonality of the material and their relationship with stone. Their conversation with stone was the unifying factor.
At night, following a day of conversing together with their tools and the obdurate material, the artists would gather for a communal meal which typically included the drinking of wine, fulfilling the original Greek definition of the word Symposium: a drinking party with a free interchange of ideas.
So successful was this first Symposium that participants vowed to host such events in their own home nations. The idea spread to many Eastern and Western European nations, Israel, Japan, and The United States. A “movement” was born that continues today, 47 years later.
I still marvel at the number of Symposia that occur around the world, and that they are more far-reaching than ever. It does seem to me that now, the movement’s original purpose has a revived sense of meaning in times where there is just as much, if not more international divisiveness as there was in 1959. That first meeting of stone sculptors promoted international understanding among countries confronting the Soviet Bloc. The Symposium in Saint Paul will create a focus on today’s need for a broader understanding between peoples, cultures and nations in our complex world.
Although it is small in scale against the grander concerns of the world, the Symposium is like throwing a pebble into a still pond: each participant in this event will create a ripple effect that can only have a positive effect.
I hope that "Minnesota Rocks" is truly successful in not only making sculptures of stone, but also in advancing the Symposium concept by combining international understanding and tolerance, exchange of ideas and technical skills, freedom of expression, beauty and an experience the people of Saint Paul will remember for years to come. Stone, perhaps the oldest expression of culture continues to have relevance today.