1999
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Pine mulch over lawn and concrete paths
Trace was a temporary installation
created for Sarratt Gallery at Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt art
students helped in forming a giant baroque drawing in a campus quad,
using mulch and lawns as pen and paper. The lines of mulch formed an
alternate set of walkways, overlaying the straight, concrete paths with
winding trails. The soft, deep mulch under your feet slows your pace,
and draws attention to the act of walking. Visitors were invited to stroll
along the winding paths, which led in a pattern of connecting loops.
The campus is a registered arboretum, and the trails lead the walker
past a variety of different tree species. Vanderbilt uses a huge amount
of pine mulch in campus landscaping, so the choice of materials not only
re-created trails in local wilderness areas, but also gave the impression
that the landscape had gone crazy. The title of the piece references
the act of drawing, retracing steps as you walk along the trail, and
to the Natchez Trace, a historical trail running from Natchez, Mississippi
to Nashville, which is now a popular hiking area.
Over the month of the installation, grass and weeds grew up slowly through
the mulch. As the Vanderbilt grounds crew would meticulously mow and edge
around the paths, the piece went from being a well-groomed path, to a baroque-shaped
piece of wild nature set in the manicured landscape. |
Image from the original proposal for the project. |
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