Whether it is owning a pet, watching a nature show or taking a hike through the forest, humans intuitively seek out connections with other living things. The term used to describe this phenomenon is biophilia. Artists will often capitalize on this instinctual desire when creating their work. However, if you simply re-represent nature in a visually accurate way the resulting experience almost always falls short of the original. Conversely, great works of art allow us to see the familiar in captivating and unexpected ways. Such is the case with the piece entitled Middle Fork by artist John Grade.
Grade’s body of work is inspired by his observations of nature. This particular piece was made by plaster casting a 140 year old western hemlock tree — a tree native to the Northwest United States. The contours of the cast were then lined with thousands of cedar rectangles joined together in an intricate web. The resulting forms were separated from the mold, broken into sections and suspended horizontally in a large open space. This remarkable move allows viewers to experience the “tree” from surprising perspectives. The central void reveals the space that would be occupied by the tree itself. This work is truly magnificent. The combination of impeccable craft, sheer size, the ability to observe the piece from below and above, as well as sensing the absence of the tree, produces an experience that transcends the original.
WOW! Thank you for introducing a new term to my vocabulary David. That is really quite a remearkable work of art. I can’t even imagine the effort and skill required to pull off such a feat. I am so grateful that artists exist that are motivated and disciplined. It makes me feel lazy LOL! Which I am!!! So grateful for your blog and effort that you make as well to keep up a very interesting, yet brief and sharply stated update on what you find in the world. I was up in Vegas on Monday. Dropping someone at the airport. I parked at the Fashion Show Mall and wondered around for a couple of hours between Wynn, The Venetian and SPHERE. It is hard to describe the Blvd as relaxing, but when you are just up for the day for a Laughlin break it really is an urban explosion to witness and admire without getting sucked in. Just the few blocks I stayed within. And a little of the biophilia thing too!!!! Tourists in a totally different mindset then the transcendental feeling of just being that I was feeling on my day in Vegas….tHANK YOU AGAIN DAVID!