1997
Cheekwood Sculpture Trail, Nashville, TN
India ink on polyester on suspended wooden frame
In the winter of
1996, before the sculpture trail opened, I took a walk through the forest
around Cheekwood to get a feel for the setting for my piece. However,
I ran into a problem. I didn't see the woods where the art would be enjoyed.
The problem wasn't that the sculpture trail hadn't been built, but that
the leaves were missing. The majority of the visitors to the sculpture
trail will probably visit in the spring, summer, and fall. The green,
lush woodland that I had imagined, and that most of the visitors would
see, had been replaced with a winter forest. Though the walk did not
give me a picture of a summer Tennessee forest, I loved what I saw. Clear
winter sunlight illuminating a landscape pared down to the bare trees
offered an alternative perspective on the Tennessee environment: strong
sun of the dry winter climate rich shapes and textures. Stripped of their
leaves, the trees turned to elegant collections of branches outlined
against a blue sky. A subtle palette of greys and browns colored the
ridges of bark and the crinkles of dead leaves. As I crunched through
the dried leaves on the trail, it became clear to me that the temporal
nature of the forest interested me most. A fascinating rhythm of changes
occurs there: season to season, year to year. The muted beauty of the
winter forest is lost on the casual visitor who comes to see Cheekwood
on a day in June. I decided to capture my winter experience for them.
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