Professor's personal story inspires Canalside art installation

Visitors to Canalside may notice a quiet but powerful new presence at the Immigrant Steps, a historic landing point where waves of immigrants first arrived in Buffalo and used the stairs to access city streets from the boats in which they arrived. This new element, an installation of sculptures titled “Destination,” were created by UB faculty member Reinhard Reitzenstein.

Part of the ongoing bicentennial celebration of the Erie Canal, “Destination” highlights the canal’s role as a major route for immigration and settlement during the 19th century. Reitzenstein, professor of sculpture in the Department of Art, created “Destination” to acknowledge and honor the many journeys that passed through Buffalo. One of those journeys is Reitzenstein’s own personal story, which began in 1956 when he immigrated with his parents to North America by boat from Germany at the age of 7.

Even though Reitzenstein says he was adventurous as a child, his memories of arriving in a new country induced feelings of excitement, fear and uncertainty — all of which helped shape the vision for “Destination.”

“I left everything and almost everyone I knew and was both excited and frightened as I entered a strange land and language and customs. I did feel fear and, simultaneously, also excitement for what lay ahead,” he recalls.

Since the Erie Canal was the key artery that brought settlers to the west via Buffalo, travelers were drawn to the promise of the possibilities opening up in the country.

“The barges moved thousands of immigrants toward the hope they held out for better lives and better options,” he says. “It was an optimistic time before steam power and railways created further changes in travel and immigration.”

After a national call for submissions, Reitzenstein’s proposal was shortlisted and he visited the proposed site at Canalside. He says that within the first few moments of his arrival at the site, he visualized human footprints ascending the granite stairs.

“The vision of a flood of immigrants was immediate, evoking my memories of arrival in a new world,” he says. “My own story of immigration by boat from Germany as a young boy came to mind instantly and I recall the people walking all around me, so I saw footprints on the steps of the site and felt it conjured up my experience, and probably the experience of countless immigrants.”

Reizenstein notes the footprints represent the many people who stepped ashore at Buffalo, marking moments of arrival, transition and hope. For the artist, they recall the sensation of being surrounded by movement — people walking, gathering and heading toward an unknown future.

Another vision that flooded Reitzenstein’s memory was of the trunks, crates and suitcases that were dragged to shore as families gathered to embark upon their new chapters. “Destination” features two key elements: etched footprints carved directly into the granite steps and a series of granite trunks arranged nearby.

“I chose granite partially for practical reasons, since the material will withstand the elements and, symbolically, they act like grave markers,” he explains. “Since it is a memorial, the trunks are simply suggested, with etched details of locks and handles and hinges. They are like drawings on the stone, not dissimilar from the way gravestones are etched with names and dates and images.”

The varying sizes and scales of the granite trunks are based on the trunks Reitzenstein’s father built to transport the family’s belongings across the ocean.

“I remembered that all our belongings were in trunks and opening them once we settled into a dwelling was so deeply emotional for me,” he says. “There were many memories in those trunks and stories associated with the things that came with us.”

The etched footprints and the impressions of locks, hinges and handles are meant to invite visitors to imagine themselves in the place of those who came before.

Reitzenstein’s personal connection to immigration also informs his work as an educator. Having experienced displacement at a young age, he remains deeply sensitive to the challenges faced by international students adjusting to new languages, cultures and environments. His broader artistic practice often explores themes of place and belonging, frequently using trees as symbols of rootedness and stability — qualities he feels were disrupted early in his life.

Visitors to “Destination” are encouraged to engage with the site by following the footprints on the stairs, pausing at the granite trunks, or simply taking time to reflect.

“I hope that visitors will sense the memories of those whose footsteps are evoked as they follow up or down the stairs,” Reitzenstein says. “Perhaps sitting on the trunks and pondering stories or personal parallel experiences. I hope that visitors take some time and slow down and wonder what these objects might mean for them and others. I hope that the objects and steps become catalytic on some fundamental, human level.”

“Destination,” Reitzenstein says, is an invitation to remember, to imagine and to consider the shared human experience of arrival and change.